Warfare of the Almighty Gods
by BEWhiteDragon-00
Summary: Four years after the World's Guardians' first victory, a new, more deadlier enemy has arised.After a serious blow to the Guardians, they must stand together with a brand new army and defeat the greatest evil ever to live.War of the Legendary Beasts sequel
1. Prologue

**Warfare of the Almighty Gods**

* * *

Prologue

* * *

**A/N**: I don't own AVP, WarCraft, StarCraft, Doom III, Yu-Gi-Oh, Digimon (used monsters only), Mortal Kombat (only used one of the characters), Resident Evil (same character from the first one), Eragon (same reason as the first one), Dragonlance, Bionicle (**only used Vahki and Rahkshi. That's all**) and I believe that is all.There's quite a bit of crossoversso I might've forgotten a few. Again, tell me if I did miss anything cuz I really don't want to be sued.

* * *

Far away in a frosty gorge, two winged vampires, male and female, rested by a cliff. A white female placed the lifeless body of a human she was holding by her feet while the black male was digging for something. The female vampire was snow white with large wings attached to her arms, blue eyes, long dark brown hair, and long black claws. The male was the same except he was midnight black, had a grayish black mane, and had red eyes. When he was finally done, he had discovered concrete shaped as a circle with one large circle on it and more inside the circle. The female cut open the body and let the human's blood slowly spread. The human's blood reached the circles and filled them up. Once they were all filled, the male vampire took out a black gem. "Will this work Sylan?" the female asked.

"Let's hope it does Velora," Sylan replied.

He placed the black gem in the middle of the circle. Sylan and Velora took a few steps back as blood red light surrounded it. The gem started glowing with a combination of black and red. Suddenly the black gem was enveloped with light and sunk into the ground. The 2 vampires were about to walk away when the most inner circle started glowing red. The entire thing became black and something started rising. Sylan and Velora watched in awe as a figure started coming out from the black circle. The figure was covered in blood. Sylan and Velora got closer and Velora suddenly said, "Greetings Master Tichondrius. How do you feel?"

The figure named Tichondrius spread his powerful wings and opened his eyes. He had two horns curved like a ram's horn, two large black wings, yellow eyes, black claws, and was entirely white. He had black markings like tattoos all over him. "Never better," he said in a very deep voice.

"It has been years since we have seen you master," Sylan commented. "We shall do as you say from here on out."

"Now Master Tichondrius, what do you want us to do now that you're finally awake?" Velora asked.

"We shall first create a fortress," Tichondrius replied.

He looked at his surroundings and smiled. "We shall use this area," he said. "Gather building supplies and allies as soon as possible. It's time to prepare for war once again."

Velora and Sylan nodded and flew away, ready to complete their master's orders. Tichondrius drew something on the ground. He then said, "Show me, Spirits of Darkness, the true ancestral heir to the silver dragon, Darlantan."

A large ball of energy rose from the drawing and a picture formed. It showed a young girl with dark brown hair, virtually black, brown eyes, and light brown skin. "Yes," he whispered. "Tell me. What is her name?"

White energy spelled out the human's name. Within a few seconds, the energy had spelled out Melissa. "Yes. Yes," he whispered again. "You will be perfect addition to my growing army, Melissa. You will pay for your ancient sire's actions. Soon, my child, soon you will belong to me. And once I'm done with you, I will kill you and I will rule Earth! Hahahaha! Hahahahaha! HAHAHAHAHA!"

* * *

Desdemona suddenly gasped. She detected something very evil going on. "What's wrong Desdemona?" Slifer asked.

"I feel that there is evil on Earth once again," Desdemona replied.

"Then Gloria and the others should be able to vanquish it," Slifer said.

"No," Desdemona said. "They will not be able to vanquish this so easily. This evil is…more powerful than ever."

"What is this new evil you speak of?" Tranquility asked when she heard them.

"A great vampire named Tichondrius has arisen," Desdemona replied.

"What!" Slifer and Tranquility demanded.

"But Tichondrius was defeated by Melissa's ancient ancestor, the silver dragon Darlantan long ago. How can he be back?" Slifer asked.

"Someone has released him and I fear that he may be after Gloria or one of her friends," Desdemona said.

"If this is true, then we must help them ourselves," Slifer said.

"But we can't," Tranquility said. "Our power might destroy the world. We can't take the risk."

"We must! If we don't, Tichondrius will take over Earth," Slifer said. "It's a risk we must take."

"Slifer's right," Desdemona said. "If it gets worse, then we must take drastic measures."

"Then it is done!" Slifer roared.

Slifer, Tranquility, and Desdemona agreed that if Gloria and the others couldn't stop Tichondrius, they would help defeat him, even if they had to risk destroying Earth themselves.


	2. Good Times

Part I

Chapter I: Good Times

Four years later…

"This is case 2551 of the murder of Gloria Zuniga. Let's start," Ashley began. "Will the both of you raise your right hand? Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"

"Yes," Melissa agreed.

"I do," granted Caitlin.

"Ok, let's begin. Will you please state your name?" Ashley asked Caitlin.

"Mary Stuart Baxter," replied Caitlin slowly in a British accent.

"And Mary Stuart Bat—Bax—are you any relation of Salad Fingers?"

"Why we are very close I say. Well we—we aren't going out but…we're friends. We're…accomplishes."

Melissa and Ashley tried to correct her but Caitlin had already realized her mistake. Caitlin actually meant accomplices. They started giggling along with Caitlin. "Ok, and will you state your name?" questioned Ashley to Melissa.

"My name is…..Cassandra Richard," Melissa replied, not able to think of another name.

"Ms. Cassandra Richard, are you married or single?"

"I am single."

"Very nice to know. Ok let's begin."

Caitlin sighed loudly as if this had been going on for some time.

"Did you know Gloria Zuniga?" Ashley asked Caitlin.

"Why…I did, maybe I didn't. But why would you—" Caitlin was saying.

"Would you answer the question!" exclaimed Ashley pretending to be angry.

"Yes I knew Gloria Zuniga."

"How so?"

"Why we were enemi—well we were best friends all throughout middle and high school but when the years were done, we started envying each other." Caitlin's voice changed from happy to pretend anger. She was still speaking in a British accent.

"Why would you envy each other?"

"She stole my man!"

"She stole your man? Who was your man?"

"Haku."

"Hak—Haku! The guy who could turn into a dragon or so you say?" Ashley was talking about a character named Haku from "Spirited Away" that could turn into a dragon. Caitlin liked him because he seemed mysterious. But the reply made Ashley and Melissa laugh.

"We had feelings for each other. We shared a special gift."

"Sorry to interrupt ladies but Ashley, are you going to be switching between both Caitlin and Melissa or are you asking questions to just one of them for now? Because then Melissa should be sitting down until called," their teacher, Mrs. Lamona said.

"Oh ok. We kind of forgot that," Ashley said. Melissa sat down in a desk right by them.

It has been six years since Gloria, Melissa, Caitlin, Ashley, and Jessica defeated Ation and Cyberdemon and earned the title as the World's Guardians. Many things have changed since that fateful war. Duke, Leon, Orlando, Johnny, and James were now part of the group. They were the same exact creatures as the girls and were also now married to them. They all still lived in Tranquility City but had new homes and the jobs they desired, or some of them anyway. Gloria changed from lab tech to an assistant, training to be a coroner, Ashley was a doctor now, Jessica decided to become a lawyer and was still taking classes as well, Caitlin was an experienced seal trainer, a successful actress, and still taking classes to become a marine biologist, and Melissa was now a vet and was successful with her two other jobs. The men of the World's Guardians still had their own jobs.

Many enemies challenged the Guardians' powers but always failed to defeat them. The world was in much safer hands than before. No new enemies had appeared for while, giving them a big break. Today, Caitlin, Ashley, and Melissa were in one of their favorite classes called Mock Trial, a class that lawyers would most likely take, though they didn't want to be lawyers. They wanted to take it for the fun of it. They had to create their own trial and perform it to the class. "We had feelings for each other. We shared a special gift," Caitlin repeated, laughing. She couldn't remember what she was going to say and Melissa just told her to say the same thing again. "We made out in the park."

"Uh-huh…anyways, so what caused you to kill your best friend?" Ashley questioned.

"She wasn't my best friend as I told you. She was only—"

"JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION!"

"Damn," Melissa cursed in a barely audible voice when she heard how "angry" Ashley was. Caitlin just gave her a sigh. "Well, she stole him one day. I saw her…" Caitlin trailed off and pretended to cry. "This is hard for me—I saw her……at Toys 'R' Us. They—they were holding hands."

"Are you positive they were holding hands?" Ashley continued.

"Yes I'm positive, you con-flabbit woman!"

"You're 100 positive?"

"Yes…and no."

"What do you mean yes _and_ no?"

"Well you see they were clo—I—I—I'm not sure if they were exactly…holding hands as you could put it."

"What do you mean they were exactly holding hands as you say?"

"They were close! Not—well—just shut up and get on with it!"

"What did you kill Gloria Zuniga with?"

"Why, my best friend."

Ashley started to laugh. "You killed her with your best friend?"

"Yes that's right, a nine rifle."

Melissa was confused with the type of gun Caitlin had said, since she somewhat knew guns. There was no such thing as a rifle called a nine rifle. Ashley just continued. "A nine rifle? So where did you shoot her?"

"What do you think! In the face!"

"You shot her in the face. Are you positive?"

"No!" Caitlin and Melissa started laughing a little. Caitlin wasn't positive of anything. "How can you not be positive that you shot her in the face?" Ashley wondered.

"I couldn't tell if it was her face or her butt!" Caitlin answered. They all started laughing now as well as some of the class. "I'm pretty sure you can tell the two things apart," Ashley added.

"Well you should've seen it. I mean, you just can't—" Caitlin's mind just went blank, causing her to forget what she was about to say next. "You should've seen it," Caitlin laughed. She felt strange for having to say the same line again. "I mean you just couldn't tell. I mean, there was fire everywhere."

"Why was there fire everywhere?" wondered Ashley.

"Because I set it on fire."

"You set her house on fire?"

"No."

"Where on fire?"

Caitlin paused for a few seconds. "The beach!"

Ashley raised a brow. "The beach on fire. You set the beach on fire?"

"Yes! Do you have a problem with it?"

"I think it's impossible to set a beach on fire."

"Oh, not when there's gasoline, bushes, and little puppies around." Caitlin and Melissa started to laugh. Ashley was just staring at her. "Ok, um, now to the next accomplice."

Ashley finally faced Melissa and started asking her questions. Melissa moved from the desk to a chair in front of Ashley. Caitlin sat right next to her. "How did you have any relation with Gloria Zuniga?"

"I did not know her" was Melissa's reply.

"You didn't know her?"

"Nope."

"Are you positive you didn't know her?"

"Yes I'm very positive."

"How positive are you?"

"One hundred percent positive."

"So why did you help this woman kill Gloria Zuniga?"

"Because she is my friend."

"So you're saying, you've known Caitlin—I mean—Margery Stuart Baxton all these years, but you never met Gloria Zuniga?"

"Nope."

"I find that impossible—"

"Liar!" yelled Caitlin out of nowhere. "She's just trying to cover up the evidence. You—you, I trusted you!"

"Uh, you're both on the same charge for the same murder case," reminded Ashley, confused about what was going on.

"She's lying. Uh! She's lying!" Caitlin repeated.

"Obviously," Ashley added.

Then for no reason whatsoever, Caitlin said, "I know. I know Johnny. I know!" Melissa was confused. She didn't get why Caitlin did that. Ashley stared at Caitlin, just as mystified at Caitlin's sudden actions. "Well then, you need to tell the truth! You swore on the Bible!" Ashley yelled.

"I am telling the truth you dumb A'!" retorted Melissa.

"I don't believe you!" Ashley yelled.

"You never believe anybody!"

"Well right now I'm believing your friend but I'm not believing you!"

"Why not!

"Because—"

"You're racist against Mexicans!" Melissa started to laugh and Ashley began to laugh.

"No I'm not!"

"Did you know that people inside my head talk to me?" Caitlin said yet again out of nowhere. Ashley and Melissa stared at her strangely.

"Will the court take notice that the murderer might be insane," said Ashley.

"Schizophrenic! Schizophrenic! Not insane but it's...schizophrenic," Caitlin quickly corrected her.

"Scratch that. Schizo," Ashley continued. "Ms. Richard, please, oh, please tell me why you were at the crime scene and why did we find your DNA if you weren't there supposedly?"

"I was there because then I wouldn't be able to kill her!" Melissa admitted. She gave Ashley an expression that said "Duh!"

"So you're admitting to the murder!"

"Exactly."

"Then why did you say you weren't involved with the murder?"

"When did—When did I ever say I wasn't involved?"

"May I say something?" Caitlin asked.

"Go ahead," allowed Ashley.

"Me? I'm dishonest," Caitlin laughed along with Ashley and Melissa, "and dishonest men you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly. It's the honest ones you want to watch out for, because you can never predict when they're going to do something incredibly... stupid."

"Why are you quoting 'Pirates of the Caribbean'?"

"I'm not quoting 'Pirates of the Caribbean'."

"Yes you are."

"I wrote that phrase!"

"No you did not!"

"I wrote it but it's true. I think the whole phrase is absolutely true. And if you can't admit it, then I'm sorry. Just say no, I am a dishonest person. She isn't honest. So who should you watch out for? Her, not me. Because I'm always gonna lie and you should know that."

"Well I think I can trust…neither of you."

"Why! God blast it!"

"Because you're on trial for murder! That's why."

"You know what I think? I think you need to shove your face up your butt!"

Melissa tried to contain her laugh. Ashley didn't say anything for a few seconds. "Anyway," she continued, "back to what I was saying. If you didn't know Gloria Zuniga, then why, oh why, did you help in the murder!"

"Because Caitlin is my friend," Melissa calmly answered. She already realized that she had called Caitlin by her real name rather than her made-up name.

"That's not an excuse."

"Yes it is."

"No it isn't."

"Yes it is!"

"No it isn't!"

"You know what?" Caitlin interrupted.

"Yes it is!" Melissa kept going.

"No it isn't!

"You know what?" Caitlin repeated. "I have a reason why. I control her. I control her mind, I control her brain, I control her drugs!" Caitlin began to laugh along with Melissa and Ashley. "The thing is I control her. So I can make her do anything I want her to."

"How do you control this woman?"

"I am stupid," answered Melissa.

"Will the court take notice that the accomplice cannot think for herself."

"Nope."

"Will the court take notice that she's answering for…the court."

"Well, you know what? You wanna know how I control her?" Caitlin asked Ashley.

"How?"

Caitlin whispered something to Melissa, which was what she was about to say might be kind of mean. "She's Mexican and I own her gardening company." Ashley instantly started laughing. "So she does whatever I say."

"Aren't you going on the stereotypical—"

"No, no!"

"Yes you are!"

"It's true! I own her gardening company and she just…does whatever I say."

"Uh, we searched her background and she does not own a gardening company."

"Yes I do," Melissa said.

"No you don't," said Ashley.

"No, I own the company! She's the worker!" Caitlin laughed, along with Ashley and Melissa.

"Yeah!" Melissa hastily agreed.

"Well you said that you owned her company," Ashley reminded.

"You know what? Don't get technical with me!" Caitlin exclaimed after a few seconds of silence.

Ashley sighed. "Well, what can we say, court? That these two are incredibly stupid and—"

"Stupid? My best friend is Jessica Simpson and you don't call her stupid. She's the most brilliant person in the world!" interrupted Caitlin.

"Jessica Simpson is not the most brilliant person in the world!" laughed Ashley. "She is a total ditz."

"You know what? You're all a total ditz. The whole—world is ditzy because they don't know. But people kill buffalo to eat their wings. How mean is that?" Melissa and Ashley were laughing again as well as the class. "I think it's very mean to tell you the truth. And you know what? You know what else? Why not meeting Harry Potter, I know mighty crazy, go and have a jolly old good time bugging Professor Snape because he is the funniest one to bug in all of London."

Ashley started cracking up. "Will the court take notice that she thinks fictional characters are real," Ashley laughed. "And will the court also take notice that she's insane and schizophrenic."

"Ins—Ins—" stuttered Caitlin, having trouble saying the word for some reason. She laughed with the other two girls. "Insane! Well the only one that's insane in this room is obviously Melissa—er—what's your name?"

Ashley and Melissa laughed. "You don't even know your own friend's name? That is very sad!" Ashley exclaimed.

"Did I say she was my friend? She was the only one to claim that she was my friend because I, of course, am the most popular lad around."

"So…you're saying that you're a boy not a girl?"

"You know what? I used to be a man. But pills and surgery fixed it," Caitlin said. Ashley, Melissa, and Caitlin were cracking up along with the rest of the class. "Funny little story, I'd tell you."

"No! We don't want to hear about it. It has nothing to do with the case," Ashley begged not to hear it, but of course it wasn't true.

"But I was with Salad Fingers one day and we just got a little friendly," Caitlin breathed. A big grin ran across her face. This made their classmates, Melissa, and Ashley laugh even more.

"I hope that doesn't mean what I think it means," said Ashley.

"Oh yes it does," Caitlin said. "Yes it does."

Ashley just stared at her. "Uh, too much information, too much information! Ms. Avalo—"

"My last name is not Avalo, its Richard," Melissa corrected her.

"Well sorry, I'm going on by old court files," Ashley apologized.

"Are you married?" Caitlin asked from nowhere. Melissa just stared at her strangely. "She's divorced! That's why her—her maiden—I mean her old, old name was Avalo," Ashley answered for Melissa.

"Yeah," agreed Melissa.

"Exactly. Um, anyway, what did you kill Gloria Zuniga with?"

Melissa paused for a while and thought of the weapon she would use. "What's the name of that thing?" she whispered.

"I don't think they heard you," Caitlin said, talking about the class.

"I know they didn't hear me!"

Melissa finally thought of the weapon. "I killed her with a battle rifle," she finally answered, referring to a gun in one of her favorite X-Box games called Halo 2.

"You killed her with a battle rifle?" asked Ashley."

"Yeah."

"Then why did you're friend say you killed her with a .9 shotgun?"

"Because a point—.9 shotgun? She said a point-9 rifle." Actually Caitlin had said a 9 rifle.

"Oh whatever! Same difference. It was a gun."

"Because a .9 rifle does not exist. And she should've meant battle…rifle."

"What are you talking about? I shot her with a dang gun. Give me a—" Caitlin yelled.

"Then you must've shot her with a pistol, not a rifle!" Melissa argued.

"For bloody hell! I shot her with a gun. Leave me alone!" ordered Caitlin.

"Ok, this is obviously going nowhere. So I think maybe the court and the jury can make a decision here," Ashley declared.

"La, la, la, la, la!" Caitlin sang. It was supposed to be the jury talking.

"Ok, the jury will be back with the verdict in a little bit."

"We'll be back right after these messages," Melissa said. Then she paused for a while and said, "30 minutes later."

"La, la, la, la!" sang Caitlin some more.

"We the jury, "Ashley said in a high-pitched voice, "have found…Margery Stuart Baxton and Cassandra Richard guilty of all charges."

Melissa literally cheered. "Lie!" Caitlin exclaimed.

"They will serve up to five years in prison!" Ashley declared, even though she knew murderers spent a lot more time in prison. She wanted to have it different.

Melissa cheered again. "Lies! I tell you. All of them. Lies," Caitlin droned her voice out when she said "lies" again.

"Well with the case—court decision made, the—the jury is…whatever—" Ashley stuttered, not sure how to end it.

"Done!" Caitlin finished.

"Yeah. The case is done," continued Ashley.

"The case is done. The case is solved!" Melissa added.

"Court is adjourned. The end," Ashley ended.

"That is the end of our beautiful court," added Melissa again.

"The end, oh the end," Caitlin sang in a little melody. "Margery Stuart Baxter was played by Caitlin Thomas. Cassandra Richard was played by Melissa Avalo and the judge and jury and everything else was played by Ashley. Thank you."

The three of them bowed in front of the class. Everyone clapped afterwards. Mrs. Lamona commented, "That was a funny trial you did. Though there were things that they wouldn't do in a real trial."

"Yeah we know Mrs. Lamona. We just thought we should kind of change it our own way," Caitlin said.

"Well that was a good, funny trial. You did well for the first project of the year," Mrs. Lamona said. "Well it's almost time to go so put everything away and I'll see all of you tomorrow."

Everyone in the class got their things ready and waited for the bell to ring. As soon as the bell rang, everyone left the classroom. Caitlin, Melissa, and Ashley met up with Gloria and Jessica and together they walked to where they normally ate for lunch. "So how was your trial?" Gloria asked when they sat down.

"It was so funny," Ashley answered. "Caitlin was like a schizophrenic person and I was supposed to be the one asking the questions. Melissa wasn't really insane or anything."

"I didn't talk as much as Caitlin did," Melissa added.

"And then you were the one supposed to be murdered," Ashley finished.

"Oh, I see how it is," said Gloria.

"So what do you think you guys got?" Jessica wondered.

"Probably an A," Caitlin answered.

"Man I'm so goddamn glad tomorrow's Friday," said Melissa.

"Oh I know! Now I can sleep in," Ashley uttered.

"Well remember you guys, tomorrow we have to be on guard for while. You know that we have to every other weekend," Gloria reminded them.

"Well technically we don't have to," Jessica said, with a mouthful of her sandwich.

"We don't but I prefer that we do. You guys do remember where and when you need to guard right?"

Everyone nodded their heads. "Good," Gloria said, satisfied. "So anything new goin' on?"

"No not much," Caitlin said, stuffing chips into her mouth.

Then a young girl slowly approached them. She was wearing all black, had black hair, and held a purse by her side. She also held her binder that was filled with pictures on the front and back. Her name was Sandra Cortes and she was one of Melissa's, Ashley's, Gloria's, and Jessica's good friends. "Hi guys," she greeted with a big smile across her face.

"Hey Sandra," Ashley welcomed her. "I see you're very happy. Anything new happening?"

"No, it's been a boring day," Sandra replied. "What about you? Any new enemies to fight?"

"No. We haven't fought for a while," Melissa answered. "But hey, we needed a break anyways."

"Jesus Christ, there's, like, nothing to do," Gloria whined. "It's so f'ing boring today."

"Hey, what's up G?" another girl said.

This one had brown hair with streaks of blonde and was wearing blue jeans with a magenta/white shirt. Her name was Zaira Canchola and she and Gloria had been really good friends since they first met. She and Gloria did their usual greeting. "What's up Zaira? Are you doing anything or are you bored too?" Gloria wondered.

"No, I'm bored too. None of my friends are here," Zaira said.

"Not even your husband Jesse?" Melissa smiled.

"No, not even him," Zaira replied. She had a fake frown on her face; Jesse Benavidez was a friend of Zaira, Ashley, Melissa, and Sandra. Zaira had a crush on him in high school, where they met, and he found out. So they pretended to be married to each other so they've been close. "Jeez, nobody has anything fun to do today," Jessica said.

They continued to talk about whatever came to mind. But they really had nothing to do. Finally the bell rang. They all separated and went to their classrooms. At long last, the day was over. The World's Guardians went their own ways, happy to finally be going home. The five girls were also cheerful to not have anyone to fight. But that would all change soon. For soon, they would be in the hardest battle of their lives.

* * *

"Master, I have succeeded in adding the Great Venom Moths to our army," Velora said.

"Excellent," Tichondrius said. "Our ever growing army is getting even more powerful. Soon I will have the most powerful army of all."

"What shall I do for you now Tichondrius?" Velora asked.

"Get the Protoss to join my army," Tichondrius replied.

"Yes Master," Velora said.

She flew away and headed towards the main base of the powerful and legendary creatures known as Protoss. Then Sylan appeared and asked, "I have successfully gotten the Cobramen to join us. What shall I do now?"

Tichondrius was silent for a few seconds. Then he turned to face Sylan. "I need you to go exactly 3, 990 miles east. Go to a city called Tranquility and retrieve me a young girl named Melissa. Use your sense of smell to detect the scent of a dragon. She will be in human form, but you will still be able to smell the scent of a silver dragon. Bring her to me…alive," he replied.

"Yes Master," Sylan said. He turned around and took off to carry out his long task.

"It's time, my child," Tichondrius said once he was alone again. His voice echoed throughout the entire room he was in. "It's time to become my apprentice and help me take over the world. I will get my revenge on you and your ancient forefathers especially that fool Darlantan! Hahahahahahahaha!"


	3. Kidnapped!

Chapter II: Kidnapped!

"Man I'm so f'ing glad to be home," Melissa smiled. She took off her backpack and stretched. Then she collapsed on the sofa in the dining room, exhausted from school. She took off her shoes, took in a deep breath, and exhaled loudly. She closed her eyes and stayed calm. Duke came into the dining room and sat down beside a fatigued Melissa. "So Mel how was your day?" he asked.

"Extremely boring, except when we did our trial," said Melissa. Her eyes remained closed. Duke placed his arm around her. "So there haven't been any new missions today?"

Melissa shook her head. "There hasn't been much happening. So….yeah. At least we're having a break."

"Well that's good. So now that your home, what do you want to do?"

Melissa finally opened her eyes. "We should go and fly for a bit."

"Fly?" Duke grunted.

"Yeah," Melissa smiled. "We haven't become dragons in such a long time; I don't even remember the last time we became dragons. We should start flying more often in our spare time."

"That's true. This could make both of our days better."

"So, let's go!"

Duke and Melissa went outside and mutated into their draconic selves. Silver scales glistened as they spread their wings and took flight. They flew, enjoying the view of the beautiful sundown. The cool wind blew against their scales as they soared. "Hey, how about we go higher?" suggested Duke.

"Yeah, maybe we'll get a better view," Melissa replied.

They flapped their wings to gain more speed and flew upward. They were going faster and faster by the minute. Finally they tore through a cloud and started soaring again. That's when they saw the most beautiful sunset yet. They saw the burning, orange sun and there were streaks of pink, blue, purple, and orange colors painted across the sky, creating many beautiful colors. "Beautiful isn't it?" Duke asked.

"Yeah," Melissa beamed. "Gloria and the others would've loved this view."

"Let's land there," Duke said.

He was pointing at a mountain top big enough for both of them to land. They landed on it and folded their wings. They saw the sun slowly go down. "We should start watching the sunset more often. This is a hell of a lot better than staying at home, sitting on the couch."

"Yeah. This is so much better."

Melissa lied down beside Duke, who lied down with her. They were silent for a while, just watching the sun slowly disappear beyond the mountain ridges. Then Duke asked, "Did you ever figure out why you're a silver dragon and why you were chosen to guard this Earth?"

"Yeah. From what I believe, it was all because of my ancestors. One of them was a powerful silver dragon named Darlantan."

"Darlantan? Why is he different from all your other ancestors?"

"He was a legendary silver dragon. He also protected the world, like my other ancestors, but instead of a team, it was only him and his mate Silvara. Then he had a new enemy to fight after about five years. His name was Tichondrius, a vampire who was like no other enemy in the history of Earth. Tichondrius became a powerful vampire/sorcerer and threatened to destroy the Earth. Luckily, Darlantan was able to lock Tichondrius' soul in some ancient place far, far away from here. But he had to risk his life to do so. Before Tichondrius' soul was locked away, he was able to kill Darlantan with his final attack. Silvara also died in the fight. Since then, my other ancestors have continued his legacy by fighting for Earth. The difference is that Darlantan defeated the most powerful being ever. The enemies that followed the vampire were never as strong. Also it was only him and his mate in his time. Eventually the dragons had the ability to become humans, compliments of the gods."

"Interesting."

"Each and every one of us has had an ancient ancestor that protected Earth. We all have one certain ancestor that has done something that none other has been able to accomplish. So we've all been honored to have the form we have."

"So, do all the guys have an ancestor as well as you girls?"

"I have no clue. But why do I care? I'm glad you're dragon now."

Melissa rubbed her head against Duke's affectionately. He did the same. They were glad that they had met before. Just as everyone else, they were madly in love. They both rested on the cliff. The sun sunk behind the jagged teeth of the mountain and the moon took its place high in the dark blue sky. It was about 11: 32 PM when Melissa finally said, "It's time to head back home."

She turned around and was about to take off when Duke said, "Hey look."

"What?" Melissa asked.

"I think it's one of those red things around the moon."

"What!"

She looked carefully at the moon and could see the blood red ring around the moon. "Something bad is gonna happen," Melissa muttered in a soft voice.

"How do you know?" Duke asked.

"Duke, that's a blood moon or something like that. When that happens, it means something bad is gonna happen," Melissa said, troubled.

"So what do we do?"

"We tell the others. C'mon, let's go home."

They both spread their wings and once again took flight. They tucked their wings and fell back to Earth quickly. They looked like silver arrows, shot from the heavens. They landed in their backyard and transformed back to normal. They went inside and Melissa went to their room to call Gloria. Since Gloria was leader, she had to know about everything that was going on first. "Hello?" Gloria asked.

"Hey G," Melissa said.

"What's up Mel?" Gloria asked.

"G, we have a problem. Look at the moon," Melissa replied.

"Ok, hold on," Gloria said.

It took her about a few seconds to look at the moon. "It's a blood moon," Gloria said.

"Yeah I know that. That means that something terrible is gonna happen," Melissa said.

"But what?"

"I don't know. We have to figure it out ASAP!"

"But we can't now. The others aren't gonna want to get up now. You know how Ash is. They aren't gonna really pay attention."

"Then…save it for tomorrow?"

"Yeah. I mean what could possibly happen while we're asleep?"

"We could have a major earthquake, the world could end, we could have a huge fire, we could have a second ice age, we could—"

"Ok goddamn it. I get it! Something might happen, but I highly doubt it will in a day. Those elemental gods you constantly talk about can help us IF we're ever in trouble. Besides, we have senses so we'll be able to detect when elements are used like Caitlin will know if we have a second ice age or earthquake. So we'll leave it for tomorrow. I'll call you in the morning."

"Alright, goodnight," Melissa said.

"Goodnight," Gloria said.

They both hung up and Melissa sighed. "Are you alright?" Duke asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Melissa said.

"Are you sure?" Duke asked again.

"Yeah. The thing is I have a bad feeling about this blood moon," Melissa said. "Like it's going to be something extremely bad."

"No duh, that's what it means. We just don't know what."

"All I know is that it means something bad. I don't know how bad."

"Well, I know we'll be able to figure it out in the morning."

"I still think we should do something about it now. But G's right. Everyone is probably sleeping right now and they're not going to want to get up this late. And we'll be able to sense it. "

"C'mon Mel. Just get some sleep. Worrying about this will just make you stress out even more. You've been so stressed lately."

"Maybe you're right Duke. I'll go to bed but before I do, I need to do something very quick."

"Ok."

Duke went inside the bathroom to change into something more comfortable. Then he came out and sat on the bed. Before he went to sleep, he said, "Don't worry Mel. We'll figure out a way to contradict this."

"But we can't change it. It's destiny, not choice. We don't even know what it is," Melissa said.

"We can at least try. There's no telling what or when this bad thing will happen. But we have to try to find a way to contradict it or defeat it. For all we know, it could be something that could destroy Earth, something we can stop, together."

"Well I hope it happens much later. Long enough to figure out what it is."

"We will. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Ok. Good-night Duke."

They kissed each other goodnight and Melissa said, "Love you."

"Love you too," Duke said.

He then went to sleep and Melissa walked quietly out of the room. She went to the office and looked at the moon. She tried to think about all the possible things that could happen. She had a very bad feeling about this. But she knew she shouldn't worry too much. By tomorrow, **if** nothing happened, they should be able to figure out what was going to happen. Or at least get a head start.

Then she heard a loud noise coming from the kitchen. She turned around and listened carefully. Dead silence was all she could hear. She was already becoming tense and decided to see what had happened. She walked into the family room cautiously. She could already feel electricity surging inside her body, ready to be fired at whatever she desired. Then she turned on the light. Nothing.

She let out a loud sigh. She was expecting something to pop out like in scary movies. She then looked in the dining room. There was nothing there either. Then she checked the kitchen, where she thought the sound had come from. Before she turned on the light, she could see a small black shape on the ground. Her heart was in her throat and electricity surged much more throughout her body. Her hand slowly reached the switch, electricity ready for attack. She turned on the light and noticed that the black thing was…a pan. "Mother of God! I should stop watching scary movies at night," she commented. "You stupid pan…."

She picked up the pan, put it on the counter, and turned off the light. She was in the hallway when suddenly someone placed a towel over her nose. She tried to break free but couldn't. The towel smelled like ether and she tried to get it off. But suddenly her vision blurred and within a few seconds, she fainted. Somebody carried her limp body outside. Then the person spread his wings and took off, taking Melissa with him.

* * *

The next morning, Duke woke up to find himself alone in the room. He didn't get why he was alone. He saw that the other side of the bed was empty. He got up and went to look for Melissa. He didn't think it was strange for him to be alone, except something told him to go and check. To his surprise, she was nowhere to be found. _Where the hell _is_ she?_ he thought.

He checked the time and noticed that it was barely 6:44 in the morning. He knew Melissa wouldn't go out anywhere this early. Nor leave without him knowing. Well she did but she would leave a note, call him, or at least leave a message. He didn't find any note or get any message in the machine. He started to worry. "C'mon Duke, calm down. She can take care of herself," he said to himself. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. "Just calm down."

He took in another deep breath and decided to wait until 12. Little did he know that this was the beginning of a whole new war.

* * *

Melissa woke up to find herself in a dungeon-like room. Her hands were tied, as were her ankles. "What the hell happened?" she asked. "And where in God's name am I?"

"Welcome, my child," someone with a deep voice said.

Suddenly a dark figure stood in front of her. It definitely wasn't a pan like before but she smelled a familiar scent. It was the scent of a vampire. "Who the hell are you?" she demanded. "And I'm not your goddamn _child_."

"My name is Tichondrius," the dark figure replied.

Melissa actually started to laugh a bit, despite the situation she was in. "Tichondrius? You've gotta be kidding me. He was defeated a long time ago and locked away."

"I am not joking," barked the dark figure.

The dark figure stood into the light that was illuminating from a small hole in the ceiling. Vampires were known to love the darkness and sometimes had little light, or none, in their homes. The vampire had large black wings tucked behind his back, black markings that seemed like tattoos all over his body, large horns that curved upwards, black claws, and white skin. He also had yellow eyes, hooves as feet instead of claws, and a long tail. Finally, he had black armor with crimson lines on his knees, chest, waist, and shoulders. "Holy Jesus Christ!" shouted Melissa. "You are Tichondrius! But…how!"

"Unfortunately for you that fool Darlantan of yours didn't seem to put the gem that trapped me in a very secure place. My servants Velora and Sylan found it and released me from my dark prison. I have returned to gain vengeance. And you are the only one that can help me," Tichondrius explained.

"So what does this have to do with me?" an angry Melissa wondered.

"You are part of the silver dragon legacy. Your ancestor was Darlantan. You are the strongest being on Earth."

"So you took me as prisoner because…?"

"Because you will become my apprentice and do as I say. You will get rid of mankind and kill all that dare fight me. You will help me take over the entire world!"

"Ok…you being trapped in that gem must've messed up your brain because there is no fucking way I'm doing anything for you. And there's nothing you can do to change my mind."

Tichondrius came up to her and backslapped her as hard as he could. "Listen to me bitch," he said, grabbing her by the chin and bringing her face close to his own. "You will listen to me. You **_will_** do as I say or else."

"Or else what? You're gonna curse me to death?"

"Or else your friends will die."

Melissa's eyes became wide with fear. Then she glared at him and said, "You leave my friends alone!"

"Hahahahahahaha! What are you going to do about it?"

"I'll kill you! That's what I'll do you bastard!"

She concentrated all her power and tried to transform into a dragon. But nothing happened. "What the hell?" she asked.

Tichondrius got a black rod-like object. He placed his finger on a button on the side. Melissa tried to transform again but nothing happened. Then Tichondrius came up, pressed the button on the side, and jabbed it into Melissa. Melissa cried out in pain. Tichondrius removed the object and removed his finger from the button. Melissa was groaning, trying to figure out what had just hurt her. She then realized that he had just electrocuted her with electricity that she evidently wasn't immune to. How he had gotten it was beyond her. "You see," Tichondrius began, "if you do not do as I say, you get punished, which is why I'm giving you two choices. Become my apprentice or have your friends suffer instead, including that fool Duke."

"No," Melissa whispered.

She didn't want Duke and her friends to get hurt. But she also didn't want to help Tichondrius take over the world. She had no choice. It was either the lives of her friends and family or the entire earth. "Fine," she said. "I'll help you take over the world."

"Excellent," Tichondrius hissed. "First thing to do is to change you. You will no longer be human. You will become more than just a pathetic dragon. You will become more superior than your friends. You will become more deadly."

He raised his hand and dark power appeared. It slithered from his hand to Melissa's body. It surrounded her and then disappeared. For a few seconds nothing happened. All of a sudden, her skin became rough brown skin. Her face started changing and so did the rest of her body. The ropes eventually snapped, freeing her. She grew three black claws on both hands, and two on each foot. She grew a long snout and bulging muscles. Once the transformation was complete, Tichondrius took Melissa to a small pool of water. She looked down and saw herself. But didn't see herself as human or dragon. She looked at herself and saw what the transformation had done. She was, what she believed to be, some sort of demonic draconic creature, like one pulled right out of hell, with projecting spurs at limb joints, a long forked tail with a pair of scythe-like bone blades, large wings, and sharp teeth in the front of her jaws with four long fangs. She had a thin spike on both sides of her face right next to her jaws that curved forward and back like the wings of an animal. Her head also ended with a very long point, giving her a crest on the back of her head. Her chest was plated with armor like skin. She stood 6'10, almost Tichondrius' height. But she still had her brown eyes. She stared at herself, filled with rage and devastation. She stood there with wide eyes and an open mouth.

"Now you are strong enough to help me," Tichondrius said. "Feel the power, my apprentice, and feel your new strength. You are no longer Melissa, the Guardian of Earth. You are now the Slayer of Earth."

"NO!" Melissa yelled.

She held her head with her hands and spread her wings in more rage and devastation. She fell to her knees and started crying. "Take her away," Tichondrius commanded.

Two large creatures took Melissa to a dungeon cell. She didn't struggle or anything. Once she was brought to her cell, she was locked in and left alone. Melissa continued crying on a bench chained to the wall. "Forgive me guys," she whispered. "But it was the only way to protect you."

She got up and looked out the barred window. She saw the sun begin to raise high in the sky, a sign that it was almost afternoon, and looked at it for a few seconds. She no longer had freedom and would not get it back, unless she figured out a way to get out and warn the others. They would try to kill her now that they wouldn't recognize her. She collapsed on the bench again, staying silent for the rest of her time in the cell. She knew that soon she would have to fight her own friends…or suffer the consequences.


	4. First Battle, First Punishment

Chapter III: First Battle, First Punishment

"C'mon Melissa pick up," Gloria said.

Gloria and the others were at her house, waiting for Melissa and Duke so they could talk about the blood moon last night. They were calling but nobody would pick up. "Why the hell won't she pick up?" Ashley asked.

"I don't know," Gloria replied.

Someone suddenly started frantically knocking on her door. She hung up the phone and went to answer the door. She opened it to find Duke, panting. "Duke! I've been calling you—where is Melissa?" Gloria asked.

"Gloria, you…you have to help…me. I—I haven't seen Melissa since yesterday. I thought you…would've seen…her," Duke gasped. He was very tired from running from his house to Gloria's. If he had taken the car, he probably would've crashed into someone given that he was in a hurry.

"No. We haven't." Gloria immediately became concerned.

"No," Duke whispered, dropping to his knees. He was no longer harshly panting for air. "So…you don't know what happened to her?" Gloria asked.

"No. I don't," Duke said. "She hasn't called, left a note, nothing! I searched in every likely place and she isn't anywhere."

Gloria helped him to the family room, where everyone was seated. Her serious and troubled face told the others something was seriously wrong. She looked at everyone. "Guys, we have a severe problem."

* * *

Melissa woke up to find the sun still shining on her. She slowly got up and stretched. She once again looked out the window and took a few seconds to look at the outside world where her freedom used to exist. But now it ceased to exist. Then someone opened the door and an ugly creature said, "You have been summoned by Tichondrius. If you refuse, you'll suffer the consequences."

Melissa glared at him and said, "Fine."

The creature took her and held her by her arm, leading her to where Tichondrius was. Melissa just continued walking side by side with the creature. It took them several minutes to reach the area where Tichondrius was awaiting her arrival. She was led into the Meeting Room, as Tichondrius called it. Not much of a name, she observed, but she wasn't going to complain about it. "Master, your apprentice has arrived," the creature said.

"Good. Now, be gone!" Tichondrius ordered.

The creature let go of Melissa's arm. She then faced Tichondrius, anger flaring in her eyes. Tichondrius faced her and said, "Today you will begin your first mission. I've given you enough time to rest. You will attack Corteau, home of the centaurs. Their homeland is just west from here, approximately 568 miles. You will then persuade them to join me after a little damage. Remember Melissa, if you dare disobey me, you will suffer the consequences or better yet, your friends will take the pain. And just to make sure you do as I say, you will have this piece of armor on. Not only will it protect you better, but I can watch what you do. You will also have this radio in your ear so I can give you further instructions."

Melissa became enraged, but controlled it. She put on the chest plate and put the tiny radio in her ear. "Now go!" Tichondrius ordered.

Melissa turned her back on him and left the room. She walked all the way to the entrance of the fortress. The door opened and she took flight. She headed west to the home of the centaurs, the next unfortunate creatures that would be forced to join Tichondrius' army.

* * *

"Why the hell would she just disappear?" Ashley asked.

"Maybe someone kidnapped her," Caitlin said.

"If someone kidnapped her, she would've fought the guy," Orlando said.

"So if she wasn't kidnapped, then what could've caused her disappearance?" James asked.

"Duke, did she seem like…scared in a way or did she seem to be acting funny?" Gloria asked.

"No. She was just stressed out and tired," Duke replied. "She was also worried about the blood mo—"

He abruptly stopped. "What's a blood mo?" Caitlin asked.

"Caitlin, just….be quiet for a few seconds," Jessica said, controlling her frustration.

"Duke, what's wrong?" Johnny asked.

"The blood moon. That could be the answer," Duke said.

"What do you mean?" Leon asked.

"The blood moon is supposed to signify the coming of a bad thing right?" Duke asked.

"Um…yeah," Ashley replied.

"So maybe the blood moon has something to do with Melissa's disappearance," Duke said. "Maybe the bad thing that was supposed to happen was her disappearance."

"Duke could be right," Leon said. "Maybe that's why we had a blood moon."

"Or you could be wrong," Ashley said. "Why the hell would we get a blood moon just because of a disappearance? People disappear a lot but we don't get a blood moon for them."

"Yeah but did those people have powers?" James asked.

"No," Ashley replied. "But blood moons will only appear if it's a bad thing and I mean really bad. Not that it's a good thing that she's gone, but a moon wouldn't warn us about that when there have been people disappearing everywhere."

"Ashley's right," Duke said. "But then why would Melissa just disappear?"

"We need to go to your house Duke," Jessica said. "Maybe we'll find some evidence there."

"Alright," Duke said.

They all went to Duke and Melissa's house. They checked throughout the entire house but didn't find anything that could lead to the explanation of her disappearance. "Hey Jess, can you use your psychic powers to figure out what happened?" Leon asked.

"I can try," Jessica said.

"Do you need to go to a specific place to try to see what happened?" James asked.

"No," Jessica said. "But I'll need to walk around the entire house again."

So once again, they walked around the entire house. But when they reached the hallway, Jessica stopped. "Jess, what's wrong?" Gloria asked.

Jessica didn't reply. She was still in the hallway but it was suddenly nighttime and she was all alone. Then she saw Melissa walking down the hallway. Jessica was filled with joy to know she was ok. But then a dark figure appeared behind her and put a towel over her nose. Jessica was speechless but she wasn't going to allow that. She ran to them and was getting ready to say a spell when she just ran through them. _What the?_ she thought.

She then remembered that this was a vision. That this happened before. She saw Melissa faint and the dark figure caught her in its arms. Then it went outside. Jessica quickly followed the figure and saw it spread its wings, and take flight, taking Melissa with it. Jessica could only watch as the monster flew east. "Jessica? Jessica!" someone said.

Jessica suddenly returned to the others. She noticed that she was outside, probably from the vision she just had. "Jessica, are you ok?" Leon kept asking.

"I know what happened," Jessica mumbled.

"What?" Leon asked.

"I know what happened to Melissa," Jessica uttered.

* * *

Melissa watched from a big cliff as centaurs were doing everyday things. She could see some of them eating, training, taking care of young ones, and other things. She saw a large and ancient looking one talking to others, whom she assumed was the leader of this group. She then decided to make her move. She leaped off the cliff and spread her wings. She flew to the centaurs and opened her jaws. She then fired a blue bolt of lightning and blasted the nearest centaur. The beast was instantly killed. A centaur saw what happened and blew some kind of horn to summon help. More centaurs came but they were armed with spears, swords, arrows, and spiked clubs and they had armor on them.

The centaurs with the bows started firing arrows at Melissa. She activated her shield and fired a stream of hellish fire, incinerating them. She could hear their screams of pain, but ignored them. She did feel guilty for killing such innocent creatures that were just protecting their kind, but she had no choice. She was then struck with a spear. She roared in pain and fell. The spear had torn into her right wing's membrane, rendering it useless. She was falling fast and couldn't fly back up. Then she had an idea. She concentrated on her energy and became her own silver self. She flew back up and blasted a group of centaurs with blue bolts of lightning. The area suddenly caught on fire. One of the centaurs was trying to get away, but was having a hard time. Melissa saw his legs and realized that the bolt of lightning had blasted two of his legs off. She couldn't stand seeing it, but continued nonetheless. She turned back to her demonic form and fired a ball of fire. It blasted another group of centaurs. She could hear their screams of pain. She saw one of them trying to crawl away. Its skin was peeling off and one of its legs was badly burned. Another was burned very badly and its face had _no_ skin. Parts of its body had no skin and some was peeling off like the other one.

Melissa turned her head. She felt as if she was going to cry. Some centaurs were enraged and threw their spiked clubs at her. Once of them hit her very hard, hard enough to throw her off course. She quickly fell to the ground. She got up and saw what seemed like hundreds of centaurs running towards her. "Oh shit!" she cursed.

Suddenly something got her left arm. She looked back to see No-Skin, the centaur she was looking at before. The centaur was trying its hardest to stab her with its long sword. She screamed in fear and bit the monster's arm. It let go and Melissa ran away. "No! Go back and fight!" she heard Tichondrius say over the radio.

"Are you nuts! I'll die out there!" she yelled.

"Do it!"

Melissa growled but turned around and stopped where she stood. She opened her mouth to get ready to fire electricity but instead felt something freezing inside her. She didn't understand why but continued charging it up as the centaurs moved closer. Then she blasted her attack at the first few centaurs but it wasn't fire or electricity. It was ice! It instantly froze the great beasts. "Whoa," Melissa grinned. "That was kind of cool."

The other centaurs ran passed their frozen comrades. One of them threw a spear at Melissa. The spear sliced her side, right to the bone. Blood squirted from the wound. She felt sharp pain. She became angry and lifted her long tail. She used the scythe-like bone blades at the end of her tail and stabbed the one that threw the spear and another random centaur. Blood squirted from the stabbed centaurs. She lifted them into the air and threw them to the ground. She could hear bones being crushed as she threw it to the ground again. A centaur threw its spiked club and got another direct hit. It hit her right side this time, piercing her skin. She roared loudly, tore off the club that was hanging from her skin, and threw it at the centaur who threw it. It slammed into the monster's face and was now stuck to it. The curved spikes dug deep into its skin. The monster roared in pain. Melissa ran towards it and grabbed it by the neck. The monster started to choke but Melissa tightened her grip. She squeezed so hard that the centaur was killed in a matter of seconds.

Melissa dropped the body of the centaur and blasted a few other centaurs with a cone of frost. She slammed into every frozen statue, shattering them to a million pieces. She then jumped as high as she could and transformed again to the silver dragon form. She fell back to the ground but didn't try to fly again. This time she landed on what seemed like a herd of centaurs. The majority of the centaurs were killed with the crushing force of the dragon's large body. There were hundreds of them that were killed because of her sudden attack. She looked at them and saw that they were as flat as a pancake. There was a pool of blood around each of the beasts. Melissa turned away from the gory mess and took to the air.

She turned back to normal and looked back. The ground was littered with hundreds or maybe thousands of bodies. Her crushing attack was the one attack that cost the centaurs many lives. There were only a few centaurs left. The others centaurs weren't warriors, so they were hiding. She landed on a large rock and yelled, "Fools! You dare continue to challenge my power even after I've killed most of your kind!"

"We will never give up, no matter what you do," one of the last surviving centaurs said.

She admired their courage and determination. She had heard many legends of the brave centaurs who never gave up, no matter what. But she put that aside and said, "I will spare your lives if your leader comes out of hiding!"

"No! We will never allow you to hurt our great leader!" another survivor yelled.

"Then you will die!" Melissa snarled.

She opened her jaws and charged up her electric attack. She didn't want to kill them but she knew that Tichondrius would order her to. She was about to fire when someone said, "STOP!"

She stopped charging and saw the ancient centaur. "I am the leader, great beast," the centaur said.

"What is your name?" Melissa asked.

"I am Gaia," the centaur replied. "What do you want?"

"I come from a fortress far from here and I was sent to have you join Tichondrius' army."

"Tichondrius? He was defeated—"

"He has been brought back. If you refuse to join his army, I shall exterminate you and the rest of your kind. And I'll make sure you suffer."

Gaia seemed to be thinking. "If I join his army, will he hurt anymore centaurs?"

Melissa didn't know what to say. She knew that Tichondrius would try to hurt them if they didn't do what he said, except she didn't know if he would hurt them even after joining his army. Nevertheless she had to persuade them. "I'll make sure that your kind is not harmed," she said. "You must come to the fortress in three days. That shouldn't be too hard."

"Fine," Gaia said.

As he turned his back on her, she yelled out "Wait!"

He faced her once again and Melissa flew down to him and removed the plate and radio. Then she said, "Leave all your warriors here. Let your kind recover. Only you go to the fortress and say that I killed all your warriors."

"But why?" Gaia asked.

"You want your kind to recover right?"

Gaia nodded. "Then have them stay. I don't want to kill everyone or have them in the fortress when they have families to care for. Assign leadership to the second-in-rank…if they're not dead."

"Thank you," Gaia said.

Melissa smiled and nodded in reply. She put out the fires using a spell and tried to clean up the mess as well. She then took flight and headed back to the fortress. She had the plate and radio on again. She hoped that Tichondrius didn't hear her say all those things to protect them. If only she knew how wrong she was.

* * *

"Who would've done it though?" Orlando asked.

"I don't know," Jessica said. "All I know is that it's a vampire and that she was kidnapped."

"We have to go east," Duke said.

"We don't even know if it changed course," Leon said.

"I don't care! We have to find this bastard and kill it!" Duke yelled.

"Duke, calm down," ordered Gloria. "We all want to find him and maybe kill him but we can't just go. We could get lost."

Duke glared at her but knew she was right. "So what are we going to do? We can't just leave that thing to do whatever it wants with Melissa," Johnny said.

"I know," Gloria said.

"Maybe it didn't change course," Ashley said. "Maybe it did head east to a castle or something."

"Yeah. I mean, you never really know," Caitlin said.

"We can at least try," James said.

"But what if it didn't?" Gloria asked. "Then we might end up killing ourselves."

"How will we know for sure?" Jessica asked.

"There has to be some way to find out whether it changed course or not," Leon said.

Jessica looked out the window and tried to use her psychic power to try to see if the vampire continued east. Unexpectedly she was floating in the air and she was alone again. She saw a black figure holding something in its arms. She suddenly realized that it was the same vampire and it had Melissa in its arms. She saw it coming from the west and still heading east. She saw a large fortress in front of the vampire. It had many towers and the tallest one almost reached the clouds. The vampire headed towards the fortress. As fast as the vision had appeared, Jessica was brought back to the family room. "You guys, the vampire was heading east towards a big fortress," she announced.

"What?" Leon asked.

"I saw it. It was still heading east and it had Melissa."

"So it is going east?" Gloria asked.

Jessica nodded. "Then east it is," Gloria said. "We have to go to this fortress ASAP. We'll leave tomorrow."

"Why tomorrow?" Duke asked.

"Because we need to get our things ready and we need to get ourselves ready," Gloria replied. "We don't know what we're up against, so we need to prepare. We'll leave at dawn."

* * *

Melissa flew all the way to the fortress and walked back to the room where she met Tichondrius before she left. She waited there for him. He finally arrived and Melissa told him about what had happened. Tichondrius listened to her while his back was turned. Once Melissa was done, silence had settled. "He's going to be coming in three days," Melissa said. "None of his warriors survived the surprise attack, so he'll be coming alone. The other centaurs cannot fight."

Then Tichondrius backslapped her again, harder than the last time. She fell to the ground, pain pulsing in her right cheek. "Do you think I'm that stupid! I know you told Gaia to keep his warriors with the centaurs and pretend that you killed them all!" Tichondrius exclaimed furiously.

Melissa's eyes were open wide with fear. Tichondrius grabbed her by the neck, digging his claws into her skin. Melissa tried to speak but couldn't. "I told you that you'd better do as I say or else!" Tichondrius yelled. "Now I'll show you what happens when you defy me!"

He threw her to the ground and pressed a button. "Let's see how your friends feel when they're taking the pain for you!" Tichondrius yelled.

"NO!" Melissa yelled.

Far, far away from Tichondrius' fortress, Gloria and the others were getting ready for the next day when suddenly Duke fell to the ground on his knees and placed his hand on his chest. He started groaning loudly. "Duke what's wrong?" Leon asked.

He screamed as if he were in tremendous pain. "Duke, what's wrong!" Gloria anxiously wondered. She knelt by him and gently placed her hand on his shoulder. She was extremely vexed about what was going on with Duke.

"My…heart," moaned Duke.

"What about your heart?" Gloria asked.

"It…hurts!" bawled Duke. He screamed at the top of his voice and fell on his back, his hand still on his chest. He felt extreme pain inside his heart, like it was being stabbed repeatedly by a million knives. He continued to groan and scream in pain. Gloria and the others tried to calm him down and do something, but knew they couldn't. Whatever was causing his pain was something they knew nothing of, not even Ashley, she being the doctor.

Back at Tichondrius' fortress, Melissa could see in another screen something like bars going down. "No! What are you doing!" she asked, desperate to stop him.

"I am very slowly killing the one you love!" Tichondrius replied.

"No! Stop please!" Melissa pleaded. She began to cry as well.

"You should've thought twice before defying me!" Tichondrius yelled.

"Just leave Duke and my other friends alone! Please! I'll listen to you next time. Just stop!" Melissa begged.

"Fine," Tichondrius said.

He pressed the button again. Back at their training area where they were preparing for their trip, Duke stopped yelling but groaned weakly. He closed his eyes and his hand fell to his side, but he wasn't dead. His breaths were short and a bit weak. "Guys, let's get him to a bed or something and find out what's wrong," Gloria ordered.

Johnny and Orlando picked him up and took him to the examination room in their underground place, where they examined any new things they found like when they were starting their first war. It was also used for themselves. They placed him on the steel table and tried to check out what was going on.

In Tichondrius' fortress, Tichondrius explained, "Know this Melissa. When your friends take the pain for you, they will slowly start to die. Duke will die within a couple of days if he is tortured like this everyday. Know that they will be in extreme pain, thanks to my machine. Duke now has a virus called Death V that my machine has created. Thanks to the complicated design of the machine it has the power to create a virus that slowly kills a person with the press of a button. The virus targets the heart, causing extreme pain inside the person. The more you defy me, the closer Duke will be to death. Before I get rid of him I will start with the next person on my list, your best friend Gloria."

"No!" Melissa yelled. "You fucking ass bitch! I'll kill you!"

"Take her away!" Tichondrius yelled.

Melissa struggled to try to get to Tichondrius. She continued struggling, so the creatures took drastic measures. Two of them took out electric rods and started electrocuting her. She started roaring in pain but continued to struggle. Finally after being electrocuted so many times, she fell to the ground, groaning from the many painful places on her body. She was finally stunned by the electric rods. The creatures took her to her cell and threw her in. They locked up the door and left. "What am I going to do?" she asked herself.

She stayed on the ground, curled up in a half circle. Her arms and legs were sprawled out in front of her. She had to do as Tichondrius said now. She couldn't hide anything from him. If she screwed up again, Duke might end up dying and so would the others. And she couldn't imagine them dying a horrible and painful death. She would never forgive herself.


	5. Beginning of a Journey

Chapter IV: Beginning of a Journey

Duke woke up to find himself in the examination room. He saw wires on his chest and head, like they way they do it in hospitals. He looked around and saw Gloria at his side. "Gloria? Why do I have these things on me?" Duke asked. "And what happened?"

"You fainted while we were packing up," Gloria replied. "You were complaining about pain inside your heart. Would you mind telling me about it?"

"I can't explain what happened but I just felt pain inside my heart like swords were piercing it. I don't know how or why it had occurred, G," Duke explained.

"We've checked you Duke and we've found nothing," Gloria explained. "I don't know what's wrong with you but I'm really concerned about you. We're probably starting a long journey here and if you're not up to it, tell me. I don't want you to be in pain as we go."

"No. I'm going, whether something is wrong with me or not," Duke said. "I'm not about to let some bastard take Melissa away without a fight."

"Are you sure Duke?" Gloria asked.

"Positive G. Don't worry about me. Your main concern should be on getting Mel back," Duke said. "And on the others, including the one you love, plus killing the bastard behind this."

"I need to make sure all of you guys will be ok before we go tomorrow. I don't even know if this is a good idea."

"You worry too much. You know that, right?"

"Yeah I guess. But wouldn't you if you were leader?"

"Yeah, but probably not as much as you. But I'm fine Gloria. Don't worry about me."

Gloria only sighed and gave in. There was no way to convince Duke to stay if something was wrong with him. "Ok Duke. We should get some sleep now. Remember, at the crack of dawn, you will meet us in that large deserted field."

"Okay Gloria. Can I take these things off me?"

"Yeah. I'll see you later."

Gloria left him alone and Duke went to his room. He stood near his window and looked at the moon. He noticed the red glow around it and knew that the dreadful event hadn't taken place yet. He felt very alone. He felt deep down inside his heart that he, with the help of the others, would find the vampire who took Melissa and kill it. He turned his back onto the moon and went to bed.

Melissa was very cold and tried to keep warm but couldn't. She shivered most of the time but tried ways to stay warm anyways. She was curled up into a ball when someone said, "Hey, use this."

She slowly raised her head and turned to the door to find a monster that had green scales and a forked tongue. He had a black sleeveless shirt with gold on the edges. He was a reptilian humanoid. "Who are you?" Melissa asked. "And why are you helping me?"

"I am Reptile and I despise Tichondrius just as much as you do," the monster named Reptile said. "My family and friends were killed when I refused to join his army. And I understand he's trying to kill your friends and your love Duke."

"Yes," Melissa looked down on the floor in misery.

"I am deeply sorry for what has happened to you," Reptile continued. "I want to help you survive while you're here."

"What good will that do? I'm going to stay an apprentice and die an apprentice without a dragon heir."

"You may believe that that's true, but I have sent my friend, Drake, to find your friends and warn them about Tichondrius. I'm going to help you get out Melissa. I am tired of monsters dying because of that damn Tichondrius. I'm putting an end to this, even if it costs me my life. For now, my concern is getting you out. But I must get going or else Tichondrius will suspect something. Take this blanket. This once belonged to my brother and I want you to have it."

Melissa looked at him. "No. I can't take it," she said. She didn't want to take something that belonged to the dead relative of the suffering Reptile.

"Please take it. If I don't survive, I want someone to take it and take great care of it. I want you to have it."

Melissa slowly took the blanket. "Thank you Reptile," Melissa said. "I'll make sure it remains in good condition."

"You're welcome, my new friend. I must be going," Reptile said.

He soon left Melissa alone again. Melissa covered herself with the beautifully designed blanket. It quickly warmed her body up. Melissa curled up into a ball in a corner and fell fast asleep.

Before the crack of dawn, Duke woke up and transformed into his silver dragon form. He quickly flew to the abandoned air field where Gloria told him to meet everyone else. He waited for a few minutes until he finally saw black wings, blue platforms of energy, and floating rocks. For some reason, he imagined some little boy saying, "Look Ma! It's floating rocks!" Gloria, James, Ashley, Orlando, Jessica, Leon, Johnny, and Caitlin stood in front of him. "Are you ready?" Gloria asked.

Duke nodded in reply. "Are you ok?" Gloria asked.

"Yes. I'm fine," Duke smiled, reassuring Gloria.

"Alright then. Let's go!" Gloria yelled.

Gloria, Ashley, James, and Orlando took to the air again and so did Duke. Jessica and Leon said a spell and once again a platform of blue energy appeared below their feet and raised them high above the ground. Caitlin and Johnny used their earth powers to create a huge rock that also raised them high. Then together they headed east, ready to get Melissa back. But they had no idea of what was going to happen as soon as they would reach about 20 miles.


	6. Betrayed

Chapter V: Betrayed

Melissa woke up the next morning to find one of the creatures by her cell door. "Get up," he said. "Tichondrius has summoned you."

Melissa started trembling a tad, but not from the cold. She was trembling in fear. She did know what he was planning today, but she feared that it might deal with another species of creature and that her friends could get punished again if she risked disobeying him. The creature opened the door and Melissa slowly walked out and went to the room where she would always meet Tichondrius. When she reached it, she stood there, still trembling from fear.

Tichondrius finally came. He didn't seem to be upset or happy, not that he ever was anyway. He passed Melissa and walked up to his many screens. Then he said, "My scouts have seen a few...creatures heading east. It seems they're heading this way. I want you to kill these creatures and make sure nothing else is following them."

Melissa turned her back on him and was about to leave when he said, "And Melissa…make sure you don't do anything foolish enough to protect them or else your friends will get it."

Melissa trembled more in the fear of her friends. She quickly left and took flight. She was trying to figure out who these creatures were. She cleared her mind at once and continued on with her quest.

"How far have we gone?" Orlando asked.

"About nineteen miles and it's about to be twenty," Leon replied.

"Guys, let's take a break," Ashley said. "I'm tired."

"Yeah, so am I," Gloria said.

"We'll rest there," Duke said, pointing at a small cliff.

Everyone landed on the cliff. "How long will this journey take?" Caitlin asked.

"Who knows? The point is getting Melissa back and getting that bastard," Gloria said.

"Well, let's just rest for a while," Johnny said. "We've been flying for God knows how long."

"Yeah, we'll think about this later," James said.

They rested, only talking about what they were going to do when they found the vampire they were looking for. But far away from their resting place, someone watched them and this spy was someone that they were looking for.

Melissa stared wide-eyed at the creatures on the small cliff. There were four vampires, a witch and a warlock, two pirates, and one large silver dragon. All of them became human again in a few seconds. The transformation to human confirmed her worst fears. These creatures were none other than her friends. She knew these were the "creatures" Tichondrius spoke of. But she didn't want to believe it. She didn't want to kill them. But if she didn't, Duke would get hurt even more or Tichondrius would decide to try and kill Gloria. "They are the ones Melissa," Tichondrius said over the radio. "Annihilate them!!!"

"No," Melissa said. "I can't. I can't kill my own friends."

"Do it now!" Tichondrius ordered.

"No! I won't!" Melissa yelled.

"That's it!" Tichondrius hollered.

Suddenly Melissa heard someone familiar yelling in agony. She looked down at the cliff to see Duke fall onto his back. His hand was on his chest and he gritted his teeth. Gloria and the others tried to help him. Melissa could only stare in horror as Duke continued yelling and groaning from the pain he felt. "His life depends on it Melissa. You wouldn't want him to die now…would you?" Tichondrius sneered.

Melissa closed her eyes, not wanting to see the person she loved in pain. She took in a deep breath and said, "Alright, I'll—I'll annihilate them."

"Good girl," Tichondrius said.

Duke stopped yelling and groaning. Melissa quickly took to the air and charged up her attack. She fired a large ball of electricity at them. The ball blasted the cliff, blowing Gloria, James, Orlando, Ashley, Leon, Jessica, Johnny, Caitlin, and Duke clear off the cliff. Melissa didn't want to continue but she had no choice. She turned around quickly and headed back towards them. "Guys, we're being attacked! Transform now!" Gloria ordered.

Everyone transformed again and all headed towards Melissa, obviously not knowing that it was actually her. Melissa saw Gloria heading towards her the fastest.

_I'm sorry Gloria, but I need to do what I must do to protect you. At least protect you the best I can. I pray to God you surrender and leave._

She shot a stream of hellish fire at Gloria. She screamed in pain and fell to the ground. The fire touched the plants around her burning body and also caught on fire. Ashley suddenly came up and slashed Melissa's side. Melissa roared in pain and grabbed Ashley's ankle with her jaws. She crushed her ankle and threw her far away from her. Ashley hit a very rocky cliff and also fell to the ground. Then James landed on Melissa's back and Orlando dug his claws into her chest. She roared loudly and tried getting them off. But they wouldn't. James clawed her back with his claws while Orlando bit Melissa's neck. Blood leaked form the cruelly cut wounds on her body. Melissa became angry and flew to a cliff behind her. She smacked into the cliff, hitting her back but also smashing James in the process. Orlando, on the other hand, let go and blasted Melissa with a dark orb of energy. She literally grabbed the dark sphere and redirected it right back at Orlando. It blasted him and sent him to the ground like everyone else.

Caitlin and Jessica started heading towards Melissa. Caitlin shot a fury of jagged rocks and Jessica yelled, "Ko'sta me'rna!" The rocks missed Melissa by mere inches but the acid struck her. Its power burned her scales and her flesh. Blood flew everywhere and mixed in with the acid. The pain intensified greatly afterwards. She knew that even if her new demon form had given her new ice powers, she still had her spells. She yelled out, "Seithr!"

She roared but this roar was different. Her roar had made Jessica and Caitlin temporarily deaf and disoriented.

That's when Jessica realized that the demon they were fighting had used the Screeching Roar spell. She didn't understand how this being had learned it but she concentrated on the fight, though she couldn't concentrate clearly for she felt dizzy and confused.

Melissa saw her chance. She used her long tail and wrapped it around Jessica's chest and below. She threw her to the nearest cliff. Jessica slammed into the cliff and fell to the ground. Caitlin got a poison arrow and shot it at Melissa. It hit Melissa's bare flesh on her waist. Most of her skin had been burned away by Jessica's acid. More blood slowly trickled down her leg. Melissa roared in pain and took out the arrow. She didn't even seem to be fazed by the lethal poison in the arrow.

Then suddenly Melissa struck Caitlin with her teeth, digging it deep into her flesh. Caitlin cried out in pain and took out her sword to pierce the monster's skin. But Melissa was quicker. She hit the blade with her scythe-like bones and threw Caitlin into the air. She then body slammed Caitlin to the ground. She roared in victory but knew she had two more people left. Leon suddenly came up and body slammed Melissa. She hit the ground but flew back up and grabbed him with her talons on her feet. He yelled in pain and shouted, "Duebr hoylkr!!"

Fire surrounded Melissa. She screamed in agony. She fell to the ground and landed on her skinless back which caused more torment. Her flesh was cruelly burned and there wasn't much skin left. She finally surrounded herself with an electric orb. Blue electric bolts hit her but didn't harm her. It started to heal her body from its brutal wounds. Blood started to cover her bare flesh and skin covered the blood. Her wounds closed up and the orb dissolved. She got up and took flight once again. She faced Leon and quickly flew towards him like an arrow. Leon gasped and quickly dodged Melissa's attack. He then yelled, "Vondr!!"

A monster that seemed to be a dragon made of ice appeared. Melissa recognized the spell. It summoned any frost beast that Leon desired. Jessica had this spell as well. But Leon made a big mistake. He didn't seem to know that Melissa had fire powers. But then again he didn't know it was Melissa, though she thought he had seen her burn Gloria to death. The ice dragon raised its icy claws and slashed at Melissa. She dodged it and shot a ball of fire. The fire ball blasted it, instantly turning it from ice to water. The water put out most of the fires on the ground. Few still remained. Leon seemed surprised. Melissa got her chance and yelled, "Gathreisa'ono drajl!"

Suddenly something came out of the ground. It spread its large wings and roared. It was a dracolich, otherwise known as an undead dragon. Melissa had used the spell Resurrection of the Dead. She only summoned one for she knew that a dracolich could easily defeat Leon. The dracolich shot a ball of purple energy, blasting Leon to the ground. The dracolich disappeared and Melissa roared again. "Hey! You haven't won yet!!" someone familiar yelled.

Melissa turned around to face Duke in his silver dragon form. Her mouth dropped open. "Yeah, I'm the only one left and I will not lose to you," Duke said.

He was glaring at the beast. "Now…let's fight!!" he yelled.

He opened his jaws and shot a fury of thunder bolts at the demon. Melissa quickly dodged them. She regretted doing this to him, but it was the only way to quickly end this. She shot a storm of ice, which quickly froze all but Duke's neck and head.

Duke fell to the ground hard. He roared from the freezing pain, but eventually it dulled. Suddenly the demon was on his frozen chest. The monster looked at him, straight in the eye. He recognized the brown eyes, but knew it couldn't be someone he knew. But he also knew demons didn't have eyes like a human. Their eyes were normally red or black. Some had other weird eyes but none ever had human ones. And yet these eyes were so familiar. He tried getting his mind back on his battle. But the eyes kept him glued to where he was, not that he was able to move anyway. Only his neck and head were free.

Melissa stared at him and said, "I'm sorry," loud enough for him to hear. She opened her mouth and shot blue bolts of electricity and shocked him. Its power was too much for him to handle and Duke became unconscious. Melissa flew into the air and landed on the same small cliff she was on before the fight. She saw the damage she had caused with her tremendous power alone. She saw the blood stained ground and burnt plants. She saw the bodies of her friends. She hoped with all her heart that none of them were dead.

She took one last look at them and flew away, regretting her decision of fighting them. Her new demon form had given her more destructive power than she thought. Her electric power had become even more dangerous. She had to control its devastating power to avoid killing Duke and the others. She loved using her powers but never wanted to have powers strong enough to kill a person with just one hit.

As she continued flying slowly, Tichondrius finally said, "Very good my apprentice. I am proud of you."

Melissa didn't reply. She was furious with him. She had very nearly killed her own friends and yet he sounded happy and calm. "Now," Tichondrius continued, "come back to the fortress. You have done enough."

Melissa was still silent but she was glad that she wouldn't cause any more pain and any more damage. Well, for today that is. She was glad that he thought they were dead. She was just glad she would finally rest and be ready for tomorrow.

Duke slowly opened his eyes. He saw little white stars in the dark blue night sky. He got up but suddenly felt tremendous pain in his chest and below. He remembered the demon froze all of his body except his neck and head. Its power of ice had caused much agonizing pain and it seemed it got worse for the night wind had made him colder. He transformed back to himself, no longer frozen, and looked for the others. He saw Gloria, viciously burned by the monster's fire. He tried to wake her up but couldn't. He decided to try something new. He closed his eyes and concentrated. He placed his hand on Gloria's body and his electric power started to surge outside of her body. Her body started to slowly heal and within a few seconds, she was fine again.

Gloria opened her eyes and groaned, "What happened?"

"We were defeated for the first time," Duke said.

Gloria became human again. She struggled to get up. "Where is that bastard??"

"Wait G, calm down. I need to talk to you but first let's help the others and fast," Duke said.

Gloria looked around and the first person she saw was James on his back and motionless. "James!!" Gloria yelled.

She ran to him to make sure he was ok. "What happened?!" she yelled.

"He was fighting that demon and it slammed him against the cliff," Duke replied.

"I'm gonna find that thing and kill it!"

"Wait Gloria, you don't understand!"

"What don't I understand?! That damn thing almost killed you, me, and the others! What is there to understand??!"

"Because—because I believe it's Melissa!!"

Gloria was quiet for a few seconds. "What do you mean you believe it's Melissa? You know just as well as I do that even with her serious temper, she wouldn't go and try to kill us."

"Look, just help the others and I'll find a place for us to hide and rest."

Gloria nodded and helped the others with their wounds. They all finally woke up and, healed, they waited as Duke found a secure hiding place. Once he did, they all moved there quickly. Their hiding place was inside an underground cave that hid them very well. It also kept them very warm. Once they were settled, Gloria asked Duke to tell them of what he believed. "I know what I saw and I believe that that demon was…Melissa," he replied.

"What?!" Ashley demanded. "How can you believe something like that? You know Melissa wouldn't try to kill us."

"Guys listen to me. That thing got up close to me. I saw its eyes. It didn't have the eyes of a fiend. It had the eyes of a human and these eyes were brown like Mel's. I know that this could be any human or just a plain out monster but something in my heart told me it was her. Not only that, the demon actually talked. It said 'I'm sorry.' I believe it is her, guys. You may think I was hallucinating or I'm just plain out crazy but I know it was her," Duke continued. "Think about it. Maybe it isn't her. Maybe I just got mixed up or something but how do you explain a _demon_ talking to me and saying 'I'm sorry?'"

"He has a point," Johnny stated.

"But IF it was her, then why would she attack us?" Caitlin asked.

"I still don't think it was her," Ashley said.

"Then think again," someone said.

Everyone turned around to find a crystal dragon the size of an average human on the ground. The dragon was a turquoise color with crystals jutting out of its legs, top of nose, and the end of its tail. "Who are you?" Leon asked.

"My name is Drake and I am messenger of my friend and master, Reptile. I bring you news of your friend," the dragon named Drake replied.

"How do we know you're not just trying to trick us?" Jessica asked.

"Why would I lie about your friend Melissa?" Drake asked.

"Why don't you tell us what you know?" Gloria asked.

"My master Reptile works for that murderous Tichondrius," Drake started out.

Duke instantly recognized the name. "Tichondrius?? He was locked away by Darlantan a long time ago!" he yelled.

"True, but he was released because of these two vampires named Velora and Sylan. Tichondrius kidnapped Melissa and now he's using her to attack and have monsters join his army," Drake continued.

"So…she was forced to attack us?" Orlando asked.

Drake nodded. "But why didn't she fight or something? She wouldn't let anybody just take her like that," Gloria said.

"Perhaps. But chances are that he threatened to do something to her. So she must attack whoever she's ordered to attack unless she wants to face the consequences," Drake said.

He looked at Duke with a serious look and said with an alarmed voice, "You are the one with the virus!"

"What?? What virus?" Duke inquired.

"You have been infected with a virus that…first before I tell you the rest, have you been feeling pain inside your heart recently?" Drake asked.

"Yes I have," Duke replied.

"It's just as I feared. You are infected with a virus that slowly destroys the victim's heart. Tichondrius presses a button in his fortress that would activate the virus, meaning he gives the virus the command to attack your heart. It causes tremendous pain inside the victim. He only does this when she disobeys him," Drake explained.

"So he just attacks the person's heart right?" Caitlin asked.

"Yes it does do that," Drake continued, "_but_ it also slowly kills the victim."

He stared at Duke and said slowly, "Duke…you are dying because of this virus."

Duke stared wide eyed at him. His mouth was opened and he was speechless. "Every time that virus attacks your heart, you will get closer and closer to death," Drake said. He then turned his head towards Gloria and with an expression of fear said, "You're next."

Gloria also stared with wide eyes and an open mouth. "No! Isn't there a way to stop this virus??" James demanded, desperate for an answer.

"No. The only way is for Melissa to destroy the machine that caused this or for you guys to do that. You must also kill Tichondrius for he will just build the machine again," Drake explained.

"Why is he choosing to hurt us?" Johnny asked.

"Because he knows that's Melissa's weakness. He knows that she would do whatever it takes to protect you," Drake continued.

"Protect us? She almost killed us!" Orlando yelled.

"True but she didn't kill you now did she?" Drake asked. "I believe that she would prefer hurting you guys than killing you or allowing you to die a slow and extremely painful death. But she could also sacrifice herself."

"What??" Duke asked.

"She could take the punishment herself, but Tichondrius wants to hurt you guys first. He actually wants to kill one of you guys first. And he is aiming at you Duke," Drake said.

Duke was again wordless. "There's nothing you can do except kill him," Drake said.

"Then we have to go and kill him!" Leon yelled.

"It will not be that easy," Drake said. "He has created an army and you must do the same. You must get monsters to join your battle against Tichondrius or else you'll die."

"Can't Melissa fight him?" Gloria asked.

"She can try but I highly doubt she would succeed or get away with it without severe punishment," Drake replied.

"Then we have to go and save her NOW!!" Duke yelled, rage in his voice.

"First we need to get monsters to join us," Gloria said. "Drake, can you stay with us?"

"Yes but first I must send the news to my master. He is helping her survive her ordeal. Is there anything you want me to tell him?" Drake asked.

"Yes," Gloria said. "Tell him that we said thanks for his help and that we'll free him once we kill Tichondrius."

"And tell Melissa that we _will_ save her and that…….I love her," Duke said, sadness in his voice.

Drake nodded. He spread his wings and flew out of the underground cave. "I know you want to get Melissa back Duke, but we have more important matters. We have to create an army to fight Tichondrius or else we'll die. We'll leave very early tomorrow morning," Gloria explained.

Duke nodded in reply. Everyone huddled up and fell fast asleep, replenishing their energy for their mission tomorrow.

Melissa was lying on the cold, wet ground when Reptile was at her door again. "I bring news of your friends," he said.

Melissa instantly rose, filled with happiness that they were alive and well. "They say that they are going to save you and the one you love—Duke—said that he loves you," Reptile said.

As fast as she became joyful at the news, Melissa instantly became depressed. She missed everyone but missed Duke the most. She sighed sadly and asked, "Is there anything else?"

"No. But it will take them longer to get here. They are getting an army of their own," Reptile replied. "Drake will now stay with your friends. He will return with any new reports or any messages your friends will wish to give you. Is there anything you want Drake to tell your friends?"

"Yes. Tell them that I'm sorry for attacking them and to try to avoid me whenever possible."

Reptile nodded in reply. "Thanks Reptile," Melissa said. "You've been a great help."

Reptile nodded again with a smile and left. Melissa looked out the window and sighed again. She missed having her freedom. She missed her friends and her family. She knew in all her heart that her friends would come and save her so they could finally kill Tichondrius. Little did she know that things would just get worse.


	7. New Mission

Chapter VI: New Mission

The next morning, Gloria, Duke, James, Johnny, Caitlin, Orlando, Leon, Jessica, and Ashley started heading east, but they didn't take the risk of flying. So they started walking. Drake had returned, given them the message, and he was now flying a few inches above the tree tops. "Drake, what is the nearest monster here?" Gloria asked.

"It doesn't depend on what is the nearest monster, but rather what type of monster," Drake replied.

They stopped and Duke asked, "What kind of monsters would we be looking for?"

Drake landed and said, "Monsters like the legendary Dragon Paladins or the great gryphons. Though they might be hard to convince, they shall be great additions to your army."

"Then we should get moving," Leon said. "But the thing is how are we going to find these kinds of monsters?"

"I'll keep an eye out for monsters. At times, I will leave you to find other monsters that can help us," Drake said.

"Besides, I may know where some of these monsters reside," Duke added.

"Let's just continue," Jessica said.

They continued walking, keeping an eye out for any monster and hoping against hope that they would be easy to convince.

"Wake up! Tichondrius has called upon you," a cobraman knight named Vadka yelled.

Melissa slowly opened her eyes. She slowly got up and headed towards the cell door on all fours. Vadka opened the door and Melissa moved slowly. Vadka yelled, "Let's get moving!!" and smacked the back of Melissa's leg. She roared and stabbed Vadka's leg with her tail. Before Vadka could yell, Melissa bit his neck and snapped it.

_I never liked you anyways, _she thought.

She then used a spell that quickly got rid of his body. She hastily left and headed to the Meeting Room. She stood in front of Tichondrius and stood on two legs. "Now Melissa," Tichondrius started, "You will go west, approximately 239 miles away and go get the Hunters to ally up with me. Now go!"

_That was a quick meeting. At least it saves me time, _she thought. Melissa walked to the entrance and flew west. She was hoping that her friends were ok and not in her way.

"I have found a monster worthy enough to join our army," Drake said. "We need to walk a few more feet."

"Ok," Gloria said. "Let's go!"

Gloria, Drake, and the others continued walking when Drake told them to hide behind a large bush. "There they are," he whispered.

"Whoa! What are they?" Leon asked in a whisper as well.

They saw big monsters that had green scales, yellow eyes, and huge bulging muscles. These monsters had long yellow claws and a very small tail. They were big, reptilian humanoids. "These are Hunters," Drake replied. "These monsters are extremely dangerous and they would be a great addition to our army. We have to convince them to join us. It may require a little fighting but we need to show them that we're worthy enough for their service."

"Then let's go!" Duke cried.

Gloria was the first to walk out. Everyone followed behind her. The Hunters raised their heads and watched them carefully. It took Gloria a while to say something when she finally said, "Greetings um…mighty hunters."

"Who are you?" one of the bigger Hunters asked in a deep voice.

"I am Gloria," Gloria replied, "And I wish to have you become part of my army."

"And why is that?" the big Hunter asked.

"I, or shall I say we, are in a war with a monster named Tichondrius and we need your help," Gloria replied.

"First, you must prove to us that you are worthy enough for our fighting skill," the big Hunter explained. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Luzera and to prove you're worthy, one of you will fight my greatest warrior, Garuda."

Suddenly a monstrous Hunter with bigger muscles, razor-sharp claws, and bigger teeth appeared and roared loudly. "Now fight my great beast and we'll aid you in your war for victory!!" Luzera yelled.

The monster roared again. "You've got to be fucking kidding me!!" Gloria yelled.

"Gloria, you have to!" Ashley cried.

"Excuse me! This…dude is bigger and more powerful!" Gloria cried.

"If you retreat, then we shall not join you," Luzera warned.

"You have to do it G! You're our only hope!" Ashley yelled.

"Wait a frickin' minute! Why am I the one that has to fight this—this thing?!" Gloria stuttered.

"I'll fight him!!" Duke yelled.

Duke gently pushed Gloria aside. Gloria grabbed his arm and, staring into his rage filled green eyes, told him, "No Duke, don't do this. You're not up to it. You'll die."

"I shouldn't be your concern right now. You have other things to worry about," Duke said. He took a quick glance at the others and looked back at Gloria. "You have the others to worry about. Besides you said it yourself. Why should you be the one to fight him? If I don't make it then…tell Melissa that I love her and I'll always be with her."

Gloria didn't answer. He gently removed her hand from his arm. He then faced the giant beast and walked towards it. James came up and placed his hands on Gloria's shoulders. She still didn't seem to want Duke to fight the Hunter. "He'll be fine Gloria," James said. "You have to trust him. He's doing this for us and for Melissa. He's going to be driven by love and friendship. You can't change that."

Gloria didn't reply. James slowly took her back to the others. Duke and the Hunter faced each other. Duke looked fiercely at the beast. They walked in a circle, giving each other fierce looks. Then without warning, the Hunter roared and slashed Duke's chest. He cried in pain and looked at him with even more rage in his eyes. He punched him with electricity around his hand. The punch pushed the monster a few feet away but with much force. The monster roared in rage and backslapped Duke. Duke fell to the ground, slowly trying to get up for the force of the slap had made him sort of disoriented. "Why won't he transform??" Orlando asked. "He's not all that strong in human form!"

"I don't know," Johnny replied.

"He probably wants to fight as human to prove his worthiness," Jessica said. "Or he could be saving transformation for last."

"Duke! Transform now!" Gloria yelled.

Duke was still trying to get up. The monster walked up to him slowly and kicked him in his stomach, knocking the air out of him. Duke groaned and tried getting his breathing back to normal. The monster grabbed him by the neck and threw him against a tree. Duke gasped for breath but the Hunter only held him tighter. "Duke!!" Gloria yelled. "I can't let him die! I promised Melissa a long time ago that I would keep him safe if anything were to happen to her!" She was about to charge into the fight when James stopped her.

"No!" James yelled, holding her back. "You will not! He chose to fight him, despite the consequences! He chose to die for us and for Melissa!"

"No! I can't let him die! I can't let Melissa down!" Gloria yelled.

She started turning into a vampire. James couldn't hang on any longer. But before Gloria was fully vampire, Duke looked at her with glaring eyes, which told her to not interfere. Gloria changed back to normal and only watched as Duke suffered by the hand of the great beast.

"You shall die now!" Garuda cried in a raspy voice.

Duke looked into the monster's eyes. His eyes were filled with death and rage. Duke refused to give up and concentrated all his power. Suddenly he felt something like new power in him. He concentrated more and could feel his body changing. The monster even seemed to see or feel his body change. "You forgot one thing you bastard," Duke said. "I have the power to transform into any beast of my choice. Now it's time to show you my true power!"

Unpredictably Duke's skin became midnight black, scaled, and very hard. No longer looking human, his head became bigger and grew spikes on the side of his head. He grew a very long tail that also had spikes on the top and ended with a large one. He grew an extra, smaller pair of arms with three claws and his neck grew several inches. He became bigger and more powerful. The Hunter wasn't able to hold on any longer. He took a few steps back and stared at Duke as he got up and roared. He slowly opened his mouth and growled. Saliva that was evidently made of concentrated acid dripped from his long teeth. The Hunter slashed his neck. He roared in pain as blood streamed from his neck. But this wasn't ordinary blood. When his blood dripped onto Garuda's skin, he screamed in pain.

That's when the Hunter realized that this blood also contained acid in it. "What is he?" Caitlin asked, staring at Duke's new form in awe.

"I don't know," Leon replied, staring wide eyed at the great beast who was actually his own friend.

In a cliff not far away from the large battlefield, Melissa watched with shock. She saw Duke turn into a massive black beast and she instantly knew what he had now become. He had become the almighty Alien King or Emperor, the rarest form of the Alien. Not many people would see one and live to tell the tale. The Emperor was a newly discovered Alien form that was the most powerful of all Aliens. It was very similar to the Alien Queen or Empress but the head would have four spikes on the sides, it would be bigger, and more powerful. But she didn't know how Duke had gotten that form. She was just glad that he was able to transform before the Hunter could kill him. She continued to watch as Garuda and Duke confronted each other for the final time.

Then Duke opened his mouth and an inner mouth with long teeth of its own came out. Garuda stared in disbelief. Then the inner mouth lashed out and bit through the Hunter's head. Garuda's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he became lifeless.

Duke's inner mouth grabbed the head of the beast and Duke closed his jaws onto the Hunter's head, biting it off. He roared and held the headless body with his first pair of large arms high up into the air. He roared again and puffed out his chest as a sign of victory. Gloria and the others cheered loudly. Melissa cheered herself, but her happy moment ended soon for Tichondrius ordered her to attack. She sighed loudly and took flight.

"Very impressive," Luzera said. "We are in your command great beast."

"Not so fast!" someone yelled.

Suddenly a blast of fire hit the ground. The nearest grass, trees, and flowers caught on fire. Duke looked up, still in his new form, and saw the shadow of a winged monster. He knew Melissa had come. He roared and shouted, "Gloria! You and the others run!"

"What?!" Caitlin demanded. "We can't leave you here."

"Just go! I can hold her off!" Duke yelled.

"Let's go guys!" Gloria ordered.

Duke whipped his head around to make sure that Gloria and the others were running to safety. He faced the Hunters who gazed at the unknown enemy. He looked up but saw the clear sky. _Where'd she go? _he thought.

Suddenly he saw a swift shape go right past him and go after one of the Hunters. He set his eyes on Melissa who was chasing after Luzera. Duke bit her tail and threw her as far as his strength could throw her. She hit the ground far away from where he stood but within a few seconds, flew up to the sky and blasted Duke with a ball of electricity. He cried in pain and fell to the ground. Melissa dug her claws into his hard chest. Acid blood trickled down from his wounds. Melissa roared as she felt burning, agonizing pain on her claws, legs, and her own chest. She got off Duke and tried to do something about the acid. Duke then smacked her with his long tail. The tail swipe sent her flying into the air. She hit a nearby group of trees. Duke then opened his mouth to spit a huge ball of burning acid. It hit Melissa, burning her skin. She roared even louder as the acid seared her flesh.

_Forgive me Melissa but I have to protect my friends_, Duke thought.

He stabbed the side of her body with the spike at the end of his tail. Melissa roared and sliced the tip of his tail with the spike on her elbow joint. Blood squirted out of the wound and acid flew everywhere. Then Melissa used her own tail and stabbed Duke in his leg. He bellowed from sharp pain. Melissa jumped onto his head and started slashing him. But her claws couldn't penetrate the hard skin. Be that as it may, she tried and tried. Duke couldn't get her off but had an idea. He ran at top speed towards a cliff and slammed his head into it. The rock hard crest that covered his head protected him from the impact. But Melissa wasn't so lucky. She fell to the ground, either unconscious or even dead. Duke got closer but unhurriedly. As he gradually got closer, he prepared himself for any surprise attacks. He was about an inch away from Melissa's face when without warning, as fast as a striking viper, she clasped her jaws around his head, very nearly crushing Duke's skull. He screeched so loudly that rocks tumbled down the nearby cliffs. Melissa still held her grip but did not tighten it. She was not trying to kill Duke, but trying to discourage him.

She could feel the acid burn her teeth, gums, and tongue, but she ignored it. Duke struggled to get Melissa off but at the same time, survive the vicious attack. She finally let go but was not done. She jabbed the scythe-like blade on her tail deep into Duke's chest, very nearly piercing his heart. Duke roared again, becoming weaker by the second from the loss of blood. She removed her tail and ripped his throat with her claws. Blood squirted everywhere as Duke slowly fell to the ground, significantly damaged by the battle. He roared in agonizing pain. Melissa quickly healed herself. She stared at him with sadness in her eyes. She never liked seeing her friends in much pain. Duke looked up at her, pain obvious in his eyes. "Why are you doing this Melissa? We're your friends, not your enemies." His voice was shaky, almost like he was going to cry.

"Drake has told you Duke. I'm doing this to protect you guys," Melissa replied.

"To protect us? You call this protecting?!" Duke demanded.

"Duke, I just said Drake told you. You have a virus caused by—" Melissa replied before she yelled and fell to the ground on her knees. She seemed to be hurt, but Duke couldn't see any wounds or anything that could cause her to do that.

Over the radio Tichondrius said, "Don't you dare Melissa or I'll activate the virus." He had temporarily activated a spell that electrocuted her.

Melissa groaned but got up. "Now kill him!!" Tichondrius yelled.

She looked at Duke. "It's your orders," Duke said. "Go ahead and kill me."

Melissa was surprised. She didn't think he could hear that, but it was only obvious that she was going to do it. She looked at his battered body and realized that she had done more damage than she thought. She walked closer to him and raised her tail. She aimed it at Duke's chest again. But she didn't bring it down. She couldn't kill Duke. "Do it NOW!!!" Tichondrius commanded.

Duke waited for the final attack. Melissa looked down at him with almost teary eyes. "No. I can't," she said.

"Do it or else!!" Tichondrius yelled.

Melissa still didn't bring her tail down. Tichondrius was getting angry. "If you don't do it, I'll kill him myself!" he threatened.

Melissa still didn't want to do it, but she didn't want to disobey Tichondrius and have her friends suffer. When she couldn't do it, she lowered her tail. "I can't do it," Melissa whispered.

"You've left me with no choice," Tichondrius said.

Melissa didn't want Duke to die a long suffering death. But she didn't want to kill him either. Before Tichondrius pressed the button that would activate the virus, Melissa yelled, "Alright, I'll do it!"

"Good. Now do it," Tichondrius said.

Melissa raised her tail again and whispered, "Forgive me Duke." Duke faced her once again and said, "You do what you need to do."

Melissa was about to bring her tail spike down when something smacked into her. She hit a tree and fell to the ground. She looked up to see a black vampire that seemed very angry. She didn't recognize the vampire at first but it seemed the vampire knew her because then it said, "I won't allow you to kill my friend!"

Suddenly the vampire opened its mouth and blasted her with a dark ball of energy. The energy ball exploded on contact, sending her many feet away from where it exploded. Melissa slid on the rocky ground, scraping her skin. She finally stopped in front of a big rock. She took to the air again. But this time she was more alert of the vampire whom she knew was James. She finally saw him take to the air again as well. "Now it's payback!" he yelled.

He suddenly flew towards her very fast and seemed like a flash of black. Melissa thought of something and yelled, "Torndio de triclisk!!"

Suddenly electricity surrounded her and she also headed towards James. But she suddenly became a tornado of blue electricity. She hit James head on, sending James spiraling to the ground. She became a silver dragon and used her long tail to throw James to the ground as hard as she could. Suddenly she was bit on the neck. Or at least she could feel someone or something trying to bite her neck. She grabbed the thing with her claws and also threw it to the ground. It was another black vampire. "Ashley!!" someone familiar yelled.

Melissa looked up to stare at yet another vampire. She was starting to get tired of this. To end the battle quickly, she yelled, "Xerolok sinthos!!"

Suddenly a fury of electric power exploded from Melissa's gleaming body. The explosion blasted Gloria and every nearby living thing. All was harmed except the Hunters who were protected by a sphere of electricity. Then in a few seconds when the explosion was over, silence settled in. Melissa wasted no time. She flew down to Luzera and changed back. She stood in front of him and said, "I am here to have you join my army."

"Why?" Luzera asked.

"Because my master and I need powerful monsters to join us on our quest to take over this world. If you join, we will boost your strength and give you what you want," Melissa replied.

"Well, you have proven your strength to us. So we will join your army, mighty dragon of electricity," Luzera said, literally bowing in front of her as if she were royalty.

Melissa was satisfied. Without hesitation, she took to the air once again and yelled, "You must go to my master's castle 239 miles east. You will be there in one week!"

She quickly continued flying, not looking back. She couldn't believe what she had done. Her fight with her friends, or more like with Duke, was worse than their last confrontation. But she was glad that Duke had discovered his new form. It would give him a better chance of surviving their next fight. But she still couldn't believe that she was about to kill him. True, she didn't want him to die a slow and extremely painful death, but then again she didn't want him to die at all. His response still rung inside her head as she continued. _Go ahead and kill me. You do what you need to do_. He sounded as if he were ready to die or as if he _wanted _her to do it. And then when she fought James, it was as if he wanted to kill her. Then Gloria, her best friend, tries to attack her or maybe kill her and so does Ashley. She felt a pang of sadness. Her friends had a right to hate her and try to kill her. She has done much damage to them. She only brought pain and suffering to them. And now she was to the point of killing them.

She was so caught up with her thoughts that she didn't see the big cliff in front of her. She took a very sharp turn, barely missing it. She then flew up and quickly returned to Tichondrius' fortress. She went into the Meeting Room, prepared for some yelling from him. But instead when he came in, he actually gave her a _smile_. She felt uncomfortable from this. She felt that he was going to do something to her friends without her knowing. "You have done well, my apprentice," he commented.

Melissa instantly became confused with his response. She was confused for she had expected him to be yelling at her for not killing Duke, not commenting her on her fighting performance. "You have finally earned my respect," Tichondrius said.

_Why in God's name would he give me respect when I've disobeyed him a few times? He's a frickin' bastard who has serious anger issues and wants to kill my friends and yet…he's now giving me respect? He's so frickin' confusing._

She didn't believe him. Yes, she would like respect but she couldn't expect respect from someone whom she knew hated her. "Now when are the Hunters to come?" Tichondrius asked.

"In a week," Melissa replied.

"Very well then. You may go outside to rest…if you wish," Tichondrius said.

He turned his back on her. He had his hands behind his back and he studied some new things on the screen. Melissa walked out, very confused. Why would Tichondrius let her go outside? He'd never let her do that. But hell if she cared! At least she would be able to go outside for a while. So Melissa went outside and sat by a nearby river. She didn't understand why Tichondrius was being so nice, but she felt that he was planning on doing something to her friends.

She let out a loud sigh. She couldn't stop thinking about her friends or Tichondrius. To try and make herself feel better she decided to clear her mind of any thoughts. Once her mind was clear, she drank from the pure river water and lied down on top of a rock with a somewhat flat surface, which was near the river. She curled up into a ball, placing her tail inside the slow river for its waters felt very refreshing, and fell asleep.


	8. Pain and Suffering

Chapter VII: Pain and Suffering

Gloria had finally found a secret cave where she and the others could stay. Duke made a big fire that kept the entire cave warm. "What are we going to do?" Orlando asked. "She might go after any monster we try to get."

"We don't know for sure," Gloria said. "I mean, we just tried one monster."

"But what if she tries to get other powerful monsters? We might end up getting weak or no monsters," Jessica said.

"I don't know guys! I—I just can't stop thinking about what she did. She's fought us and nearly killed us," Gloria said.

"But it's not like she wants to," Ashley added.

"Terribly sorry for interrupting your plans, but I bring you news," Drake said.

"What?" Johnny asked.

"Tichondrius is planning on conquering another species of powerful beasts tomorrow. But this species will be of no use to us. He also plans on killing you with Melissa's power. Tomorrow he's planning on a confrontation between you and her to fight her again. He will want her to look for you again and put and end to your quest. True, she is suffering from these fights, but as she said many times, she wishes to try and keep you guys from dying from the virus. She must follow Tichondrius' orders or you all die," Drake explained.

"I can't fight her anymore," Gloria said.

"She's too powerful for all of us. I mean we get close to overpowering her but she ends up doing something that almost kills us," Caitlin explained.

"She doesn't have a choice," Drake said.

"Well, what are we going to do? Continue fighting her and die later on?" James asked.

"No, we have to free her before we go against Tichondrius. Her power is stronger than ours so we have a better chance of killing this guy," Gloria said.

"But we are learning new powers as well," Leon said. "Don't you remember when Duke became that freaky Alien?"

"He does have a point," Orlando said.

"Yeah, we're all getting stronger but the problem is _when_ we learn any new powers," Gloria agreed. "What if we don't get new, even stronger powers until it's already too late?"

"All we can do is hope to the gods that we get them ASAP," Johnny said.

Duke had been silent throughout the entire conversation. He wasn't sitting near the fire, but at the entrance of the cave. "We've suffered enough from Tichondrius and Melissa," Johnny noted.

"We need to find monsters quickly," Gloria said. "We have to get them before she does."

Gloria looked at Duke. His back was leaning against the cave's entrance and he was watching the bright moon. She turned her attention back to the others and said, "Let's get some rest. We'll wake up before the crack of dawn."

Everyone nodded and quickly went to sleep. Jessica activated a spell that kept a barrier around them so they could stay warm and protect them from any danger. Also kept out sound in case any enemy decided to use Screeching Roar or anything similar to that. When everyone was asleep, Gloria went to Duke and sat by him. She knew he was suffering the most out of everyone. She didn't know what to do. "Duke…we'll try to get her out ASAP," Gloria said, trying to give him new hope.

But he did not reply. "Duke, I know it's painful for you to fight Melissa, but we have no choice," Gloria said. "I know she tried to kill you and I think she'll do it again. We have to fight her as much as we don't like it."

He still didn't reply. Gloria sighed for she knew nothing would cheer him up. She was about to get up when Duke finally said, "He forced her to try to kill me."

Gloria looked at him. "Tichondrius" was Duke's only reply after she looked at him. Gloria was silent and felt troubled in a way. She knew Melissa would do anything to prevent Tichondrius from using the killer virus. And if it meant killing them herself, then…she would. "I see," she replied, not sure what to say.

"C'mon Gloria, you know that Melissa has been doing this stuff to us because of Tichondrius," Duke said, angrily.

"I know but I didn't think that she would go this far," Gloria said.

"Oh really? And how's that?" He was starting to get very angry. "If he would make her attack us, what makes you think he won't get her to kill us?!"

"Duke, calm down."

"Calm down? Calm down?! He _ordered_ her to go after the Hunters. He _ordered _her to attack us. And now he's ordering her to kill us!! And you expect me to calm down??!!"

He was gritting his teeth and he also gave Gloria a furious look. She could see the rage in his eyes. "Duke, just calm down!" Gloria demanded.

"I can't calm down! I can't live with the fact that that bastard is making someone that we know go against us!!" Duke bellowed. "I can't stand fighting Melissa anymore. I'm gonna kill that—that—that fucking bastard!!!"

Duke's back was facing Gloria. "Duke, you have to calm now!" she yelled.

She grabbed his arm to have him face her but when she faced him his eyes had become a glowing red. Gloria gasped and tripped over a rock. He gritted his teeth even tighter. Gloria could tell that Duke was enraged. "I am not going to calm down until I get Tichondrius myself!!" he yelled.

"We have to work together! You can't work alone! We'll fight Tichondrius when we have an army of our own!" Gloria yelled.

"NO!! I will go alone! I will go after him! I WILL GET MY VENGEANCE!!!" Duke roared.

Then his voice changed to an unsettling roar. So unsettling in fact, it sent a chill down Gloria's spine. He started transforming again, but he didn't turn black or silver. This time he became a mixture of dark blue and black. His arms and the rest of his body grew scales. Wing membrane that was dark blue and was tattered came out from his arms. The sides of his wings were serrated. He grew a long tail with purplish frills on top and serrated sides. His face grew a very long snout that had a sharp end like a beak. He didn't have legs so he walked using his arms. He had an extra pair of smaller wings that was now resting on his side. He roared again but louder and just as unsettling. Gloria stared in awe as the creature that was still Duke looked at her with glaring red eyes. He started walking forward towards Gloria. She tried to get away for she was frightened by the beast. Duke opened his jaws and purple white energy, like plasma energy, started to form. He was just about ready to fire when he was shot with a dark ball with purple electric bolts around it. He howled in pain and fell to the ground. He didn't move at all. Gloria looked behind her and saw James. His hand was out in front of him and once Duke was down, he lowered it slowly. Gloria quickly got up and ran to him. James hugged her tightly, glad that she wasn't hurt. "What the hell happened?" he asked.

"Duke and I were talking and he was angry and he just transformed into that—that…thing," Gloria stuttered.

They both heard him groan and noticed that he was human again. But he didn't get up. "Let's get him back in here," James said. "One of us will have to watch him."

"I'll do it first," Gloria said.

"Fine, wake me up in about…four hours," James said.

Gloria nodded and helped him bring Duke near the almost small fire. James went back to sleep and Gloria stayed near Duke, making sure that he wouldn't turn into that thing that almost killed her.

Melissa woke up to find herself in the same place. She looked around and realized that it was nighttime. She slowly got up and stretched. She went to the river and took one last drink of its fresh waters and headed back to the fortress. She quietly went back to her cell. It felt weird to her to be walking around the fortress freely.

_That _is_ weird. Tichondrius, being the evil dude he is, wouldn't do that unless he _wants_ his apprentices to go and run away. He must be up to something. And I don't even know if he knew that I was outside this entire time._

When she reached her cell, she noticed Reptile guarding her cell. "Melissa! Where have you been?" he asked in a soft voice.

"I was outside the entire time," Melissa replied.

"What?! Tichondrius could kill you if he finds out," Reptile said.

"He would IF I went without him knowing,"

"What do you mean?"

"He _allowed_ me to go outside."

"He allowed you to?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I guess he liked what I had done in my fight and he wanted to…give me a break?"

"I don't think that was the reason."

"Neither do I. Reptile, I have a bad feeling about this. What if he's only doing this to distract me while he does things to my friends? Did you see what he did today?"

"Yes but it has nothing to do with your friends."

"How do you know?"

"I saw him studying some maps. He was probably planning his next attack."

Then someone else came in. It was a cobraman knight! Reptile was speechless and Melissa's heart was in her throat. Reptile suddenly yelled, "Uhhh…get in there now! Your tricks won't work on me!!"

Melissa looked up at him and before she did anything, Reptile used his electric rod to electrocute her. She bellowed in pain and quickly went inside her cell. Reptile quickly locked the cell door. Melissa didn't get it at first but finally figured out what he was doing. Reptile then asked, "What do you wish for me to do?"

The cobraman smiled and answered, "Guard her cell until morning. And don't fall asleep!"

Reptile nodded and waited for the cobraman to leave. "Melissa? I'm sorry for what I did," he finally said.

"It's ok. At least you saved our asses," Melissa said with a smile. "Did he suspect anything?"

"No," Reptile replied.

"How do you know for sure?"

"Because…ok I haven't told you everything about myself Melissa."

"You…haven't?"

"No."

"So what are you hiding from me?"

Melissa eyed him in a suspicious way. She didn't know what he was hiding but she was hoping it wasn't something bad. "Ok, I have something like…psychic powers," Reptile said.

"That's all?" Melissa asked.

"Yes but I can't do things like control people or attack with it. I can't only sense the feelings of others. I could sense that he wasn't suspicious."

Melissa smiled and said, "Well, at least we have an advantage."

"True but then again cobramen knights aren't all that bright."

Melissa laughed a little and said, "I'll see you tomorrow then Reptile."

Reptile nodded and disappeared. He stood by the door, following the cobraman's orders. Melissa wrapped the blanket Reptile gave her around herself and went back to sleep.


	9. Battle for Monsters

Chapter VIII: Battle for Monsters

When it was about 4:00 AM, James woke up Gloria and asked when they should leave. Gloria decided to go now and they both woke everyone up. Duke was still unconscious. Once everyone was awake, Jessica created a blanket of purple energy that covered Drake's back to protect Duke from being cut by his scales. She then placed Duke carefully on Drake's back. She also created a rope to prevent him from falling off. Once that was done, they walked out of the cave and started heading east. "Drake, what other monsters is there that could help us?" Gloria asked.

"Well, there is……" Drake started out, thinking. Then he snapped his fingers when he got something. "There's the Vahki!"

"The what?" Johnny asked.

"The Vahki. They are legendary creatures and guardians of an ancient temple. We can try to get them," Drake replied.

"Then we'd better hurry," Orlando said.

"We need to head north," Drake said.

"How far?" Leon asked.

"We're not that far," Drake said. "I'll get us back on track once we're done. Just follow me."

Everyone followed Drake north, where they would get a second chance to start creating an army.

Melissa woke up with the sun lighting down on her. She felt the warmth from its heat. She was going to fall asleep again but got up. She knew Tichondrius would want her and besides, she'd slept enough.

Her cell door opened but it wasn't Reptile. It was a centaur! Melissa was surprised. She quickly walked out but the centaur stood in front of her and said, "Gaia didn't take all of us. So don't worry. The others are well protected."

Melissa nodded with a smile. The centaur let her pass and she headed to the Meeting Room like always. She had grown accustomed to Tichondrius' fortress and she normally had a morning routine. She would always go to the Meeting Room as soon as she woke up. She faced Tichondrius, like always, and as usual he explained what he wanted her to do. He told her to go north and find a powerful species called the Rahkshi.

Melissa left and headed north, hoping against hope that she wouldn't have to face her friends yet again.

"Ugh…what happened?" Duke asked, a little dazed.

Suddenly four swords were pointed at him from all four sides. He even saw a sword made of dark energy above him. He looked around him and realized that the four swords belonged to Orlando, Johnny, Leon, and Caitlin. "Guys, what are you doing?" he asked.

"Don't move Duke," Johnny said.

"But what did I do?" Duke asked.

He tried to get up but Leon smacked him with the handle of his sword. Duke groaned in pain and placed his hand where he was hit. "What the fuck was that for???" Duke demanded.

"We know what happened last night Duke and we're not going to allow you to become that beast!!" Leon yelled.

"Calm down guys! Let's give him some room," someone familiar ordered.

Leon, Johnny, Caitlin, and Jessica walked away from him. Duke saw Gloria walk towards him. "Gloria what is going?" he asked.

"Do you remember what happened yesterday?" Gloria asked.

Duke shook his head. "You transformed when you became really angry," Gloria said. "You became a—a…monster! I don't know what's wrong with you Duke, but we're not leaving until you talk."

Everyone stared at Duke. He stared at Gloria with surprised eyes. But that's when it came back. That's when he suddenly remembered what had happened last night. He remembered becoming a great beast. A beast like none other. And he remembered trying to attack Gloria. He gave her a regretful look. He closed his eyes and sighed sadly. "I—I'm sorry G," he said, looking at the ground. "I'm just…so concerned about Melissa. I'm beginning to lose control of my powers. I think that form was a mistake and only created by my anger. I just want to kill Tichondrius and go back to living like before. I'm really sorry Gloria."

"I can feel your pain Duke," Gloria said. "I know how much you're suffering. We're all suffering but we need to control it. We will have a chance to get our vengeance. But we need to create an army first. You need to control your power, especially that form of yours. I think it was a mistake but if you still have it, you have to control it."

Duke nodded in reply but his eyes were half closed and he still had regret in his eyes. He got off Drake's back and they all started walking again. In several more minutes, Drake had told them to stop. They went behind a small bush and took a quick look. And what they saw made them stare for a long time. They saw creatures of six colors: black, green, white, blue, brown, and red who were all about 5'10. The creatures had short white pincers and they all had different weapons attached to their arms where hands should've been. The black creatures had weapons that ended in something like a screwdriver. The greens had weapons that ended in very short, thick scissors. The whites had weapons that had serrated ends to it. The blues had weapons like any regular curved blade. The browns had weapons with ends like grapping tools. The reds had weapons with ends like long thin pincer claws.

They all had something like crests of six more colors: light green, green, orange, icy blue, blue, and red. They had glowing eyes that were the colors of their crests. There was probably hundreds of each color. Some were fighting their own kind, most likely training themselves, some were keeping an eye out for their kind, and some were just resting a bit. "There they are," Drake said in a quiet voice.

"These are the Vahki?" Johnny whispered.

"Yes," Drake replied. "These are the legendary Vahki. These creatures are powerful and would be great additions to our army."

"How do we get them to join us?" Orlando asked.

"We have to prove our strength to the leader like with the Hunters," Drake said.

"So let's get going," Caitlin said.

Gloria walked out first. Everyone followed behind her. The Vahki stopped what they were doing and stared at them. They all felt a little nervous. They weren't sure if the Vahki were going to attack. Then six Vahki came up to them and the blue one asked in a deep voice, "Who dares disturb us?"

"I, Gloria," Gloria replied.

"What is it you want?" the black one asked.

"I come from far away to create an army to fight Tichondrius, a powerful vampire that threatens to take over this world," Gloria explained. "I wish for you to join my army and help me fight him."

"How do we know you're not lying?" the red one asked.

"For starters, I used to work for Tichondrius," Drake said. "Tichondrius will soon ask you to join his army and I ask you not to. He shall torture you if you wish to refuse to join his army and he'll kill your kind."

There was talking among the Vahki. They seemed to somehow be fearful of Tichondrius. "Silence!!" the blue one ordered.

He restored order with the other Vahki. "Now," the blue one said. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Zerakh and I am leader of Vahki Bordahk."

"I am Xalahk and I am leader of Vahki Nuurahk," the red one said.

"I am Onurahk and I am leader of Vahki Rorzahk," the black one said.

"I, Metruzahk, am leader of Vahki Vorzahk," the green one said.

"I, Seerahk, am leader of Vahki Keerahk," the white one said.

"And I am Rorahk and I am leader of Vahki Zadahk," the brown one said.

"As I said before, I am Gloria and these are Leon, Orlando, Caitlin, Jessica, James, Johnny, Ashley, Duke, and Drake," Gloria explained.

"If you wish for us to fight with you, you must fight our most willing warriors and prove to us that you are worthy to have our skills," Zerakh explained. "Who shall fight our newcomers?"

Six more Vahki came up to them and faced them. "And which of you will fight these warriors?" Zerakh asked.

"I will," Gloria replied.

"As I," James said.

Gloria looked surprised and said, "Spike you stay with the others. I can't risk you too."

"I will fight with you G. I won't let them kill you," James said.

"But—" Gloria was about to say when James said, "G, trust me on this. I _will_ fight with you, no matter what you say."

Gloria smiled in reply, glad that James was willing to fight with her no matter what the issue. Both of them faced the six Vahki. "They can't do this alone! We have to help as well," Leon said.

He took a few steps forward when Jessica came up in front of him and said, "They can handle themselves. We won't always be there for them, you know?"

Leon sighed worriedly and nodded in reply. He and the others looked at Gloria and James, hoping that they would survive their battle with the mighty beasts.

Melissa had finally reached her destination. She hid behind a bush and saw the monsters she was out for. She saw creatures of six different colors: white, blue, red, brown, green, and black who were all about 6'10. These monsters had long legs, glowing red eyes, and something like spikes on their backs that seemed to be different with each color. They all held things like rods with different ends to them. She knew about these creatures. These were the Rahkshi that Tichondrius had mentioned. And these were the legendary creatures that many feared. She had heard many legends about these extremely aggressive creatures and knew their power. She knew that if she wasn't cautious, she would be easily killed. She knew what they had done to other unfortunate souls and she knew the only way to win against a Rahkshi was surprise. She would catch them off guard, which would be one of her only advantages. She also needed to be very cautious before attack.

She also knew what they were named. The blacks were called Vorahk and their leader was named Lorahk. The blues were called Guurahk and their leader was named Watahk. The reds were called Turahk and their leader was named Lavahk. The browns were called Panrahk and their leader's name was Romahk. The whites were called Kurahk and their leader's name was Frostahk. And finally, the greens were called Lerahk and their leader was Venomahk.

She took a step forward, unintentionally snapping a branch in two. A Lerahk heard it and its spikes started moving back and forth quickly, the Rahkshi's alert signal. The others heard it and their spikes also started shaking back and forth rapidly. Melissa gasped and quickly took off. All the Rahkshi were heading towards the bush! She ran away and quickly took to the air. She landed on a tall tree a foot or two away. She saw the Rahkshi tear through the bush. She saw one of them roar in frustration and couldn't believe what she saw. One of the Turahk roared and she saw its red head open up to four flaps of what she figured was armor. She saw its true face. It was green and there was something like four fat tentacles that plants sometimes have. The mouth was in the middle of these four tentacles.

Melissa ignored the odd face and had to think of another way to slip past the guard of the Rahkshi.

"Now…let the battles begin!" Zerahk shouted.

Almost immediately, a Nuurahk came up to James and grabbed him with its pincer claws. It threw him against a tree, actually snapping it into two. Gloria quickly transformed into a vampire and attacked the Nuurahk. But before she even laid a hand on it, a Keerahk slammed into her. She hit a tree with full force but quickly got to her feet. She kicked the Keerahk as hard as she could. It knocked down a tree, but got up and suddenly changed. Not into something different, but it was no longer standing on two legs. It turned its head in a half circle and its arms were twisted to the other side of its body. Its serrated weapons helped it stand and its feet were bent all the way back, until it was standing on the tip of its feet. Now it was standing on fours similar to a spider. It leaped onto Gloria, knocking her down again. It used its pincers to bite Gloria's arm, nearly cutting it off. Blood oozed from her wound and she screeched in pain. She flipped the Keerahk onto its back and blasted it with a dark ball before it could do anything. Then she turned her attention back to James but he seemed to be ok for he was fighting off a Bordahk and a Rorzahk. Suddenly a Vorzahk and a Zadahk leaped onto her and started attacking her. They had also become the arachnid form like the Keerahk. She flew up into the air as the Vorzahk and the Zadahk hung on. She flew in a circle fast to try to get them off, but the faster she went, the harder it became to get them off. They just dug their weapons deeper and deeper into her flesh.

Suddenly the Zadahk looked at a rock and its eyes became brighter. Then Gloria was hit by the rock, knocking the breath out of her. She fell to the ground still gasping for air. The Vorzahk and Zadahk jumped off and went after James. He was already wounded by the Bordahk and Rorzahk and when he saw the other two that were fighting Gloria come towards him, he feared the worst. They were going to lose the fight and lose their chance of getting the Vahki.

He also saw the Keerahk go after him. He threw the Bordahk off and blasted the incoming Vorzahk with a dark ball. The Keerahk spreads its pincers wide and James could see ice forming. He realized what it was trying to do and took to the air. But it wasn't going to let him get away. It grabbed his right leg with its pincers. James clenched his jaw against the pain but ignored it and continued. His blood trickled down the Vahki's white pincers. The Keerahk used its serrated weapons to try to hold onto James. The serrated blades pierced his back, chest, and stomach. James growled in pain but continued nonetheless. He finally stopped and blasted the Keerahk with another dark ball. The Keerahk lost its grip and fell to the ground. But not without slicing the part of James' body where the blades had been, including his leg. He screamed in pain as blood jetted from his numerous wounds. It felt like his intestines would fall out of place with his stomach sliced, causing him to place his hand there to prevent it.

James concentrated all of his energy and fired multiple dark balls. Various places exploded from these orbs, causing many fires. But Jessica and Leon put the fires out before it could get any worse. Then James fell to the ground, tired from his battle and very weak from using all of his energy plus loss of blood. Gloria, on the other hand, finally got her breathing normal and attacked them. She slashed at the already wounded Vahki but even when they were down, they were too quick. They quickly got up and jumped onto her. She screeched as the Vahki slashed her and tore up her flesh. Blood spurted from her wounds and dripped onto the ground. The Vahki had her blood on their pincers and crest. They got off of her and screeched loudly. They stood on twos again. Gloria looked at them and roared herself. But it wasn't her roar. It was deep and struck fear in all of them.

She started changing. Her skin became a brownish tan and grew armor on her shoulders, wrists, and other places. Her feet even changed to something like a human but more different and she had some type of silver shoes that seemed to have claws to it. She suddenly grew one long jagged blade coming from the side of the two wrist armors. She grew two more long jagged blades from the top of the left wrist armor. She grew long, thick "snake tail" hair that looked like it had golden rings on it. Then a mask covered her face. It was silver and looked somewhat terrifying. She got up and roared the same deep and fearful roar. Leon, Jessica, Johnny, Orlando, Ashley, Duke, and even the beaten James gasped. But Duke was far more surprised than anyone else. "It can't be," he said.

"What do you mean?" Johnny asked.

"That is a Celtic Predator!" Duke replied, "One of the highest ranking in Predator society!"

Gloria stared at her huge and long blades and other new things. But it didn't take much time for her to use those deadly blades. She stabbed the Keerahk in the head. The Vahki instantly became lifeless after twitching a little. Its icy blood trickled down Gloria's blade and froze a small part of it. She tried to take her blade out but noticed it was stuck. The other Vahki were coming after her with a vengeance in their glowing eyes. Gloria finally took her blades out but realized that it was frozen. She slammed it against a rock, shattering the ice. She then opened her left wrist armor and noticed a set of buttons. She already seemed to know what to do. She pressed a few and a cannon rose from her back. She blasted the Vorzahk with a blue ball of plasma. The plasma ball caused extensive damage to the Vorzahk, creating a huge burning hole into its head. Poisonous green blood flew everywhere, some barely missing Duke and the others.

Gloria roared in triumph but her victory was cut short when James was yelling for help. She looked back and saw James being attacked by the Bordahk and Nuurahk. "No!" she yelled.

Suddenly the two were blasted off him and Gloria could see him changing as well. He had brownish tan skin and he too grew armor in various places. He also grew jagged blades but this time he had a sword attached to the side of his leg armor and blue "snake tail" hair. He had a red cape and a golden mask was attached to his shoulder armor. That's when everyone saw his face. He had four mandibles with claws on the tips surrounding his mouth. He had some kind of symbol on the top of his head. He also roared with fury in his roar. "He's the Elder Predator, _the_highest ranking Predator in Predator society!" Duke yelled.

James took no time looking at his new weapons. Almost immediately, he used his lethal weapons to cause a fatal wound in the Nuurahk. It cried out in pain when he dug it even deeper. Its blood dripped from his blade once it was out but when it touched the ground, it created small embers. He saw his own blades heated by its fiery blood. The Nuurahk fell to the ground and slowly died, though James could see its blood closing up its wound. He then used his plasma cannon to blast the Borahk. Blue blood flew everywhere as well but it put the fires out and he realized that its blue blood was really water. The Bordahk died quickly.

Now the only ones remaining were the Rorzahk and Zarahk. Gloria and James faced them but before they could do anything, the Rorzahk and Zarahk knelt down on their knees and lowered their heads, their weapons resting on their sides. Gloria and James stared at them, puzzled. Then Zerahk said, "They have surrendered. You are the victors."

Gloria and James roared in triumph. Duke and the others cheered loudly. Zerahk and the other Vahki leaders came up to them and Zerahk said, "Your skills are worthy enough for us to join your army. So, we shall join you great warriors."

The great leaders bowed before them, weapons resting on their sides. Gloria and James returned to normal. "Wait! Isn't it going to be all of you?" Orlando asked.

"No," Xalahk replied. "They will stay here. Only we shall go."

"But who will take care of your kind while you are gone?" Johnny asked.

"The Vahki already know what to do if we ever depart," Seerahk answered.

"As long as they're safe," Jessica said.

"Rest assure, they shall be," Rorahk said.

Together, they departed and Drake told them about another nearby group of powerful monsters called Guardians but the problem was that they lived deep within a volcano called Xalaroth. They decided to head there for their next attempt but with a plan.

The Rahkshi were doing what they normally did everyday. They trained themselves, guarded their home, and rested. One of the Turahk guardians was watching the entire place when it spotted something big in the horizon. It alerted another Turahk and together, they alerted every Rahkshi. They all got their rods and got ready for an attack. Suddenly out of nowhere, a ball of fire blasted a group of Kurahk and a stream of ice froze a nearby group of Vorahk. A big black figure was right above them. The remaining Rahkshi attacked their enemy but they went right through it. Their enemy disappeared and was nowhere to be found. Then bolts of lightning hit a small group of Guurahk. Another shadow hovered above them and they saw a big silver dragon. A Turahk shot a beam of fire from the tip of its rod, but the dragon moved, avoiding the fire.

Melissa circled around and fired another ball of fire. The illusion she had created was only a diversion before the actual attack. A Kurahk blasted her with a ball of ice from its rod. Her right wing was frozen and she felt an explosion of sharp pain. She roared and started falling slowly but not without becoming a demon again. Before she hit the ground, she spread her wings and quickly flew up. She was up into the sky again but she didn't spread her wings on time before an unusually sharp branch tore her stomach. She roared loudly as blood squirted from her wound. Blood seeped through her fingers as she placed her hand on her stomach. This was the Rahkshi's chance. They could see her stop for a few seconds. That's when all the Rahkshi blasted her with fire, ice, water, rock, and poison. She roared a sharp cry of tremendous pain as she was blasted with one powerful attack. Explosions shook the area and smoke flew everywhere. The Rahkshi finally stopped and saw her fall from the sky in a ball of smoke. She fell into a small group of trees. Six Rahkshi of each color ran to where she had landed.

Melissa opened her eyes and looked around her but felt stinging pain. She moaned and tried to contact Tichondrius to ask for help, though she didn't like asking for help and he probably wouldn't anyways, but nothing. She suddenly felt light headed, most likely from the loss of blood, and felt like blacking out. She saw six Rahkshi looking down on her and before she closed her eyes, she felt a Vorahk pick her up, feeling a new powerful wave of pain.

"We're here," Drake said.

"How are we going to do this?" Johnny asked. "We'll die in there!"

"We have to get someone that is immune to fire to go in there," Caitlin said.

"Nah really??" Ashley asked. "The question is who?"

Everyone then faced Duke. "Me?" Duke asked. "But…I'm not immune to fire!"

"How do you know for sure?" Orlando asked.

"Well, what do you want me to do?" Duke asked. "Go in there and risk my life just to find out??"

"Uh…yeah," Caitlin replied.

"I can go myself," Xalahk said.

"But if you're immune to fire, how are the rest of us going to go?" Leon asked.

Then Duke had an idea. "I know what I can do," he said.

He raised his hands and said, "Hoylkr ikonoka!" Fire surrounded his arms and he shot it into the air. The fire started creating a monster. It soon became a solid monster and once it was done, it fell from the sky and landed on its feet. Though its skin and everything was still fire, it was able to move and do normal things. The monster roared loudly. Then within a few seconds, it disappeared. Everyone stood there, puzzled. "What was the whole point of that?" Leon asked.

"You'll see," Duke replied.

Suddenly the volcano started shaking a bit and lava gushed its way out. "Great idea Duke!!" James yelled, but not in a cheery way. He and the others started to panic.

"Guys, don't worry," Duke said.

"He's right," Drake said. "We will see results in a few seconds."

Suddenly big black things jumped out of the volcano and landed in front of them. The ground shattered like a glass wall on impact. These monsters were _huge_! They had bulging muscles under their very, very light yellow, to the point where it was almost white skin. The tip of their tail, a small part of their back, and their "hands" (Its just big giant spheres) were made of black rocks with lava in the edges. They had hoofed feet and segmented horns that curved forward and down. Their eyes were pure black. "What are they?" Orlando asked.

"These are the Guardians," Drake replied.

"Greetings, o mighty beast. I, Duke, have come for you to join us in our fight to defeat a villain named Tichondrius," Duke said.

A large guardian came up to Duke but used his sense of smell to find him. "Why is he looking for Duke by scent?" Gloria asked.

"Guardians are blind and must smell or listen to find prey and other things," Duke replied.

Then when he finally reached Duke, he said, "I am Lavflame. And we do not help others working with evil. We annihilate them."

"We do not work for evil, wise one. I don't know if you heard me well, but I am going _against_ a great evil that shall rise soon," Duke said.

"And why is it you want us?" Lavflame asked.

"We need to vanquish this evil before it gets any stronger," Seerahk said. "Unless you want to die or become slaves, you must join us and help us fight."

"What's in it for us?" a Guardian asked.

"Well…what is it you want?" James asked.

But Duke answered his question. "If you help us, we shall create a bigger fiery place where you and only you shall rule and live," he said.

Lavflame turned his head to the other Guardians. They just said "Yes." Lavflame faced Duke again and said, "You have yourself a deal."

Duke smiled in reply. "That's it? No fighting or anything?" Caitlin asked.

"Caitlin shut up," Gloria said.

"Why did you promise a new place to live?" Johnny asked.

"Guardians _love_ places where fire exists like volcanoes," Duke said.

A few Guardians went back into the volcano while the rest stayed behind. "Wow, we have a lot of Guardians on our side," Leon commented.

"Indeed, we do," James said.

"Who's next Drake?" Gloria asked.

"We must go far from here. We shall go after a race of monsters called the Zerg," Drake replied. "They will be powerful additions as well."

"Then let's go," Gloria said.

Together, they all once again followed Drake. He would take them to a dark place where the Zerg Empire flourished.

Melissa woke up to find herself tied to a wooden pole. She looked down at herself and saw many wounds that were inflicted on the unexpected attack. Her chest and stomach, which was now stitched up rather than torn, were aching and she still felt sort of light headed and dehydrated. She knew that if she didn't get out soon, she would die. She tried to move but the rope was wrapped around her tightly, causing more pain as she moved. She moaned in agony and stopped. She took a look around her surroundings and realized that she was in a trapped place made of rock. She saw Rahkshi guarding her "cell." She knew she couldn't transform into a silver dragon again. The Rahkshi would do what they did last time. But she had no other options. Not even her spells would be able to save her. Making any move whatsoever would risk her life.

She growled in rage and pain. She could feel anger building up inside of her. She roared in defeat and fury. She suddenly felt herself changing but into something different. She could hear her bones _cracking_ and changing into a new skeletal form. She could feel muscles grow in her arms but not huge. She could feel the rope getting tighter and tighter around her body as she grew bigger. Frills ran down her back and long horns grew behind her head. Her body became a long serpent body with no legs. Her wings were attached to her arms but her claws were different. This time, one claw pointed up while the other curved and then pointed down. Her form became more unique when her face had formed. Her teeth on the top jaw were serrated like a shark's, including her fangs, but only two fangs on the bottom. The rope had snapped and now she was as tall as the rock cave, but she was still growing. Soon, the rocks gave in and fell on top of her.

The Rahkshi ran away to avoid being crushed by the rocks. They looked around to see what happened but found nothing. Suddenly, a large dark brown dragon popped out of the rocks and roared loudly. Its roar was very frightening to them. It suddenly took to the air with a flap of its huge wings attached to its arms.

Melissa looked behind her and saw the Rahkshi prepared to attack. Apparently they hadn't realized that she _was _the dragon. But she wasn't just any dragon. She had become a unique and dangerous dragon called a dragoon. They were more powerful than an ordinary dragon. She took a sharp turn and charged up her attack. This attack felt different though. It wasn't electricity, fire, or ice. It was just blue energy and she didn't understand why. When she fired, comets of blue energy flew towards her targets and blasted them. She was impressed by the dragoon's attack. Never had anyone seen the attack of dragoon, let alone seen a live one and lived to tell the tale. Dragoons are very rare creatures. Within the last 20 years or so, they had gone into hiding for the reason that people were hunting them down.

Suddenly several Vorahks used their rods to summon huge rocks and shot them at her. Melissa quickly evaded their attack. She fired another storm of blue comets at her opponents. She was hit by a powerful stream of water, thanks to the Guurahks. She was thrown off course, causing her to slam into the ground. The Rahkshi saw their chance and rushed to where she had crashed. Melissa quickly recovered and took to the air. But she didn't head back towards them. She fired one last blast of blue comets at the Rahkshi and headed back east. She had had enough. She turned back into her fiend form and headed back to the fortress, tired and weak.

"I think that's enough for today," Gloria said.

"Yeah, we've done enough today," Drake agreed.

"Hey, this is a very clever place to stay," Leon commented.

"Where?" Orlando asked.

"Behind that waterfall," Leon replied.

He led them to a cool waterfall that had a cave behind its sparkling blue waters. "Hey, wise guy, I'm not going in that cave if it means I get wet," Johnny complained.

Zerahk passed him and activated a blue shield that covered everyone. "Satisfied?" Zerahk asked.

"Um…yes," Johnny replied.

Zarahk walked into the waterfall and so did the others. His shield protected them from the water. They went inside the cave and got comfortable. "Who's going to be watching us?" Rorahk asked. "We should have watchers now."

"We shall be your watchers," Lavflame said. "We shall warn you of any danger."

"But if you guys are blind…how are you going to be able to see if there is danger?" Caitlin asked.

"We are able to create Seekers. These creatures help us detect any danger whatsoever. They warn us of it and we'll alert you," Lavflame replied.

"Fine by me," Caitlin said.

Duke created a fire again and they all sat around the fire. Lavflame and a few other Guardians walked outside and hid in nearby places to guard them.

Melissa returned to the fortress and quickly headed towards the Meeting Room. Tichondrius was already there. "I'm sorry it took me so long," she apologized. "I…ran into trouble along the way."

Tichondrius quickly turned around and backslapped her like he had done the last few times. She fell to the ground, her right cheek pulsing with new pain. "Why did you retreat??" Tichondrius demanded.

"If I had stayed, they would've killed me!" Melissa answered angrily.

"You **_never_** retreat unless I say so!! You have disobeyed me again Melissa!!" Tichondrius yelled.

Melissa was furious. "Look, I did what I could to try to get them to join us but—" Melissa said before she was interrupted.

"But what?? You couldn't do a simple thing like reason with them?? You just had to try to kill them when I specifically said to have them join me!!"

Melissa felt powerful rage burn inside her. "Look you fucking bastard, I couldn't just stand their like a goddamn idiot! I had to defend myself!! The Rahkshi were trying to kill me! I had no choice!!"

Tichondrius growled and said, "You'll pay for this!"

He took out the same button Melissa feared. "No," she whispered.

"Let's see how your friends like it!" Tichondrius cried.

"NO!" Melissa cried.

Tichondrius pressed the button. In the cave behind the waterfall, Gloria was helping James with something when she suddenly fell to the ground on her knees. She cried out in pain. "Gloria? Gloria??" James kept asking. "What's wrong??"

"She has the virus!! Melissa has disobeyed Tichondrius and he has now chosen Gloria. She has the virus and now she's going to slowly die!" Drake yelled.

"No!!" James yelled in worry.

Gloria moaned in agonizing pain. Her heart felt like it was being pierced by ten thousand knives. She wanted the pain to end. Now she understood why Melissa would rather kill them and what Duke was going through himself. She would rather die now than die slowly like this. She moaned and yelled from the tremendous pain.

James felt like he was going to cry. He didn't know whether he would lose Gloria or not. He whispered to himself and his eyes began to water. "Please Gloria, don't die. Please…"

"No! Stop!!" Melissa pleaded but Tichondrius ignored her pleading.

Melissa was infuriated. She had had about enough of her friends being in pain. She decided to do something that would put her life at risk. "Tichondrius if you want to punish me then—then you will do it the old fashioned way," she said.

Tichondrius looked at her, showing interest. "Is that so?" he asked.

Melissa nodded and said, "You can do all that you want with me as long as you leave my friends alone."

"Fine," Tichondrius said. He pressed the button again, stopping the virus' deadly attack. Back in the cave, Gloria finally stopped and lied in James arms, her breathing slow and weak. James brought her closer and held her there, not putting her down. He started crying from relief and fear. He held her even closer and didn't let go. Everyone else stayed with him and tried all they could to calm him down.

Back at the fortress, Tichondrius shot a look of pleasure at Melissa. She felt very uncomfortable. "You're friends shall be protected while you suffer the consequences. Give her the punishment she deserves. "

A few cobraman knights equipped with electric rods walked towards her. Melissa was on her knees and her eyes were closed. Her eyes filled with tears of pain and fear. But she was doing this to further protect her friends from the virus. Suddenly the cobraman knights started electrocuting her numerously. She roared loudly in pain. She was electrocuted everywhere. She felt numerous blasts of pain in her body. The cobraman knights kept inflicting the painful electric rods on to Melissa's body. By the time Tichondrius told them to stop, she was on her back and she was still, not dead.

"Take her back," Tichondrius ordered.

The knights took Melissa to her cell and threw her inside. She smacked into the wall. She lied on the ground, pain pulsing through her veins. She stayed on her side, too tired and weak to move. "Melissa!!" someone familiar said.

Melissa moved her head to at least see who it was. It was her friend, Reptile. "Reptile," she said in a soft yet weak voice. Though she was in much pain, she was overjoyed to see him.

"Melissa, what in God's name happened to you??" Reptile asked.

"Tichondrius had already planted the virus in another friend of mine and I decided to take the punishment myself. I was ordered to try and have the Rahkshi join our forces but everything went wrong and I almost ended up dying. Anyways, he had the cobraman knights electrocute me for my punishment," Melissa explained.

"I have to get Drake to come," Reptile said. "I have to know what your friends are doing. Hang in there Melissa. We'll get you out, no matter what!"

Melissa saw Reptile close his eyes and concentrate. That was the last thing she saw before her world went black.

Drake raised his head quickly as if someone called his name. "Drake, what's wrong?" Leon asked.

"Reptile is calling me," Drake said. "I must go. I shall return by tomorrow morning."

He ran out and quickly took to the air. Leon walked to the mouth of the cave to see him go. "I wonder what Reptile needs," he said.

He walked back to the fire where everyone was sleeping and lied down. Jessica was sleeping by his side. Leon was about to close his eyes when he heard Duke. He looked up to see him sitting down away from the fire. "Hey Duke, what's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm just worried about everyone," Duke replied.

Leon got up and walked to Duke. "Everything's going to be alright," he said.

"I just wish this was all over," Duke said. "Until Tichondrius is dead, Gloria and I are at risk of dying. So is everyone else."

"Well, we have to create an army first. Hopefully we can get all of them fast," Leon said.

"We should be flying, not walking. We probably would've been there by now if we flew. But no, we decide to walk."

"True, flying would be faster but how on Earth would _all_ of our allies be able to keep up with us? Besides it dangerous enough to fly."

"We can also teleport."

"Yes, but the new teleportation spell requires an extensive amount of energy."

"I know but I'd rather do that than take my time."

"Even so, we wouldn't be able to make any allies."

"True. But I just wish this was over."

"C'mon Duke, just get some sleep. You've been so upset and really stressed out. This will be over soon."

Duke nodded in reply. Duke and Leon walked back to the fire and finally went back to sleep after a long day of walking and making allies.


	10. Revenge of the Rahkshi

Chapter IX: Revenge of the Rahkshi

Melissa woke up and took a few seconds to get up slowly. She wasn't hurting any more, but she was stiff. She took a few more seconds to stretch her muscles and the rest of her body. She yawned loudly and looked out her cell window. And couldn't believe what she saw. The Rahkshi had returned and they had come with a vengeance!! "No," she whispered. Though she didn't like her idea, she had to warn someone.

_But then again they will attack the fortress, giving me a chance to escape while everyone else works their ass off to try and save it._ _But that means I have to leave Reptile behind and risk killing my own friends._

She wanted to escape and she wanted Tichondrius to be killed. But if the Rahkshi couldn't kill him and she managed to escape, her friends would pay the price. She faced the door and rammed it with her head. The head butt attack knocked the door down. "Goddamn it, it would've been nice to know that a head butt could easily knock down this door," Melissa noted.

She quickly ran to the Meeting Room and found Tichondrius staring at the screens in there. Tichondrius looked back and scowled at her. "How did you get out??" he demanded.

"I slammed it! What do you think??!" Melissa yelled. "And I came here for a reason."

"Is that so?" Tichondrius growled.

"The Rahkshi are heading over here!"

"Say what you wish, but I do not believe it. Take her away!"

Cobraman knights took Melissa by the arms, but Melissa wasn't done. "No! For once, you bastard, listen to me!! The Rahkshi are coming!! I'm not lying!"

Before Tichondrius could say anything, a centaur came in and warned, "Tichondrius, Rahkshi are attacking the castle!"

Tichondrius shot a glance at Melissa, who started grinning in triumph.

_This is what you get for not listening to me._

Tichondrius looked angry and ordered, "Defend the fortress and send out my forces immediately!!"

The centaur ran back to tell the others. Tichondrius looked at Melissa and said, "Melissa go out there and reason with them. We'll talk about this later."

Melissa nodded and ran outside to join the fun. Once she was outside, she flew into the air and quickly transformed into her newest form. She roared loudly and fired her blue comets of energy. She blasted many Rahkshi and some of them returned fire. A few Panrahks jumped into the air and tried to slash Melissa with their rods. But she was able to avoid them. She flew down and took a sharp turn. Jaws gaping, she blasted the nearest group of Panrahks, destroying them with the explosive onslaught.

She blasted them with the energy comets but was also careful not to hurt her "allies" even though she despised all of them except the centaurs and Hunters. She suddenly heard a familiar shriek of terror and looked down to see Reptile surrounded by Gurrahks. "No! Leave him alone!" Melissa yelled.

She swiftly flew towards them. She grabbed Reptile by his waist with her tail and flew back into the air. She placed him on her back. "Thanks Melissa," Reptile said, holding on to the horns on the back of her head.

"No problem," Melissa said. "Now hold on."

She folded her wings and started falling to the ground like an arrow. Reptile held on tightly as Melissa opened her jaws and fired more energy comets. She blasted several Panrahks and a few Guurahks. Many of them were blown to many pieces. Blood and gore was everywhere. She then took a sharp turn up again, barely missing the ground. "Melissa, aren't we supposed to reason with the leader?" Reptile asked.

"Yes, but there are too many Rahkshi right now. The only way for them to surrender is to deplete their number but without killing _all _of them," Melissa replied, "which reminds me, you need a weapon."

She flew back down and snatched a Kurahk with her jaws. She crushed the Kurahk and gave Reptile its rod. "The Kurahk can turn allies against each other as well as freeze anybody it chooses. You, on the other hand, must use that power to turn the Rahkshi against each other, but not too many. We're trying to weaken them, not have them kill each other," Melissa elucidated. "All you have to do is concentrate and touch one Rahkshi. I'll tell you when to use its freezing ability."

"Got it," Reptile said.

"There's our first target, the white Kurahk. Let's put you to the test."

She flew down to the Kurahk and Reptile held the rod out. He concentrated and touched the Kurahk. The rod slashed the head but didn't kill it. Reptile looked back in time to see the Kurahk attack a Vorahk. "It worked!" he yelled.

"Good," Melissa said. "Now for the rest."

She kept flying down and Reptile continued to use the rod's power to turn Rahkshi against each other. He was forced to also kill a few of them. Soon, the Rahkshi were overwhelmed with Tichondrius' forces and their own kind. Melissa attacked as well but very few times. A Rahkshi threw its rod at Reptile, slicing his arm open. He wailed loudly, blood gushing from the mortal wound. There was nothing Melissa could do until the Rahkshi gave up, or else the beasts would overrun them and kill them if they landed. Reptile realized this and only applied pressure to it to slow the bleeding down. Luckily before long, the Rahkshi gave in. They stopped fighting and bowed to the victors. Melissa came to rest on the ground in front of Tichondrius' defending forces once she had learned of their surrender. Melissa instructed Reptile to cancel the ability to have them go against each other, which is what he did. Once the Rahkshi stopped, they confronted Melissa and Reptile. Six leading Rahkshi stood in front of them and the red one said, "We surrender, almighty Dragoon! We wish to serve you and your mighty rider."

"Very well then, Lavahk," Melissa said. "But you do not serve me. You shall serve my master Tichondrius."

"With pleasure," Lavahk replied.

"Lavahk?" Reptile asked, groaning from the pain.

"That's his name. He's leader of the Turahk," Melissa replied.

"You shall follow us and we'll show you our master," Reptile said.

Melissa started walking towards the entrance of the fortress. The entrance was large enough for her to fit. She walked using her arms with her wings folded, and went inside. She waited for the Rahkshi to come in before she helped Reptile off. Reptile walked to the Meeting Room with the Rahkshi, where Tichondrius was waiting. Melissa then turned back to normal and went to tend to the centaurs and Hunters' wounds. She didn't care for the others. It took her quite a while but was finally done after nearly two hours. She went to the Meeting Room with Reptile, whose arm was still bleeding but had slowed considerably, and they both faced Tichondrius together.

Tichondrius looked at them and said, "I am impressed with you both. I have to say that that was very intelligent. To show my appreciation, I shall promote you. Reptile, you shall be chief of my guardians and you, Melissa, shall be master general of my forces. You have protected the fortress with your lives and in return, you have gained my respect and you shall do as you please for the rest of today. You are dismissed."

He turned his back on them. Melissa and Reptile exited, confused and tired. "Why did he do that?" Reptile asked, while Melissa tended to him. "I've known him for a long time and he's never been this nice to _anybody_. Well, he's never been this nice **period**!"

"True, but maybe he really was impressed by our skill. I never really thought that he would advance us to higher ranks or give us a day off though," Melissa said. "But at least we have time to rest."

"True," Reptile said. "Cool thing is, now I'm in charge of security. And I can tell those other bastards what to do now."

Melissa laughed a bit and looked at him with a smile. She then said, "Hey, now that we have the time, I want to take you to a favorite place of mine."

"Ok," Reptile said.

Melissa helped Reptile up and both of them walked to the first place Melissa went to when she had her first real moments of freedom. "This is it," Melissa said.

"Wow! It's a very beautiful place indeed," Reptile commented.

Melissa took a few moments to take a real look around the place she liked. When she first came here, she didn't take the time to see the scenery. And now she knew why Reptile believed it was beautiful. Of course, there was the cool, pure water of the slow moving river. The water was sparkling in the sunlight. There were many trees, creating a private area. Many flowers were near the river. There were purple flowers, a few yellow, pink, and light purple flowers with white mixed in. She saw butterflies and a few birds flying around the water and plants were growing around it. Very few fish were in the river, but it was enough to sustain someone Melissa's size. She stared at its beauty that she had never realized before. Reptile took his time to stare at it as well. "Shall we sit?" Reptile asked.

Melissa nodded in reply. They found a comfortable spot on the grass and sat down. "When did you find this place?" Reptile asked.

"Well, I first found it a day or two after coming here or something like that," Melissa replied. "I just chose this place at random."

"Well, good choice," Reptile said.

"So…does Drake have any news?" Melissa asked.

"Yes he does," Reptile replied.

"Is that so? Good or bad?"

"Well, good as a matter of fact with one piece of news being bad."

"What?"

"First, your friends have two species of monsters in their army: the Vahki and the Guardians."

"They, of _all_ people, got the Vahki and the Guardians to join them??"

Reptile nodded. Melissa knew of the legendary Vahki and the powerful Guardians. She never believed that they could do something like that. But was proud of her friends for getting those beasts to join. It gave them a better chance at defeating Tichondrius. "What else?" she asked.

"Gloria, Spike, and Duke have new forms. Gloria can become Celtic Predator, Spike can become Elder Predator, and Duke has a strange new dragon form. But Drake and the others believe it was created by mistake," Reptile explained.

"And…why's that?"

"Because Gloria said that he was in rage when he first became this dragon. He wanted to gain vengeance. He couldn't stop thinking about what you did to nearly kill them."

Melissa lowered her head in grief. She knew that she had nearly killed them that day and she knew Duke wanted his revenge now. Her heart ached for him and she wished she was at home with her friends, not having a care in the world like the way it was before this conflict. "What is this dragon you speak of?" she questioned.

Reptile described Duke's new form to her. She soon realized what it was. "How did he learn that form?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" Reptile asked.

"Duke has become an Imperial Dragoon," Melissa explained. "They're part of the dragoon society and they're one of the heaviest armed dragoons in it. I can't believe he was able to become that."

"They don't know if he can control it or not. But they're hoping that he will never use that form."

"Anything else?"

"No."

Melissa nodded in reply. She then lied down and said, "Thanks for telling me this. I think I'll rest for now."

"You sure do a lot of resting," Reptile commented.

"Because I do a lot of fighting. And its not like I have much else to do."

"Well, I think I'll be heading inside now. I'll get you later."

Melissa nodded. Reptile got up and headed back to the fortress and Melissa used the rest of her time to sleep like before.


	11. Bad Start

Chapter X: Bad Start

They finally arrived to the Zerg's main base, but he felt wrong. He felt this would be too dangerous but Gloria had gone over the plan many times. Go into the base, talk to the leader, and convince them to join. But Leon felt there would be more to this. He had heard many stories of the Zerg. He knew of the danger with them. But he would try his best to help his friends win over the Zerg.

"You must be very careful when entering," Drake said. "The Zerg are very dangerous so enter with caution."

"Us? What about you?" Jessica asked.

"I have other manners to attend to with my master. I will be staying with him for a while to discuss some…affairs," Drake explained.

He took wing and headed west to where his master resided in. "I have a feeling he's plotting against us," Caitlin said.

"Why?" Johnny asked.

"I don't know," Caitlin replied.

"Let's get going," Gloria said.

"I and the other Guardians shall stay outside. We'll attract attention if we go with you. We'll stay out here and guard to be sure no one else comes," explained LavFlame.

"Ok. Just be careful out here," Gloria said.

They went inside the large cave. They walked until they reached the heart of the cave inside the cliff. They hid behind a huge rock and when they looked to see the Zerg, they couldn't believe what they saw. There were many creatures and weird structures. They saw a creature with muscles on it arms that ended with a blade as an alternative to claws. It had two mandibles by the side of its mouth and it had a snake-like body. It had a large crest that curved up and it had sharp teeth.

They saw another creature that had four legs and also had muscular arms ending with a blade. It had spikes on its legs and its mouth was also like two separate jaws. Another creature was in the air. It had purple wings, its body was in the shape of a C and at the end it had two curved teeth, as if it were its jaws. It had red eyes and orange skin. "My Lord! I never knew they were this freaky," Caitlin said in a soft voice.

"What did you expect them to look like?" Orlando asked.

"Guys we have a job to do," Gloria reminded them. "We have no time to chit chat."

"It's not going to be that easy G," Duke said. "We're looking at hydralisks, mutalisks, lurkers, zerglings, ultralisks, and other Zerg units. We're looking at a hard battle."

"So…what are we going to do?" Orlando asked.

"We'll go with the plan," Gloria said.

Gloria walked out and stood in front of one of the Zerg. But once she stepped onto the purple membrane that surrounded the entire base, a pink snake-like creature came out from the hole of a weird structure that had pulsing purple tentacles around it and sunk the front of its body to the ground. Then a spike came from the ground in front of Gloria. More of the same structures did the same. Spikes were popping out from the ground around Gloria. One of them hit their target. Gloria shrieked in pain when a spike came from the ground and sliced her arm. Her scream and the spikes attracted the attention of the other Zerg. James got up quickly and headed towards her. But suddenly Gloria was surrounded with dark energy and teleported off the purple membrane. Jessica placed Gloria on regular ground. They all saw Zerg coming towards them. "Stop! I wish to speak with your leader," she announced.

But the Zerg hissed and growled in reply and prepared to attack. The spider-like Zerg dug underground near Gloria and the others and spikes came out from the ground. More than a dozen spikes came from the ground, nearly slashing Gloria and the others. "Let's get out of here!" Leon yelled.

Everyone quickly ran out as the Zerg started chasing them. But eventually, the Zerg gave up the chase. They hiss, growled, and roared in triumph. Gloria, Duke, James, Leon, Jessica, Caitlin, Johnny, Ashley, Orlando, and the Vahki continued running for their lives even when they knew that the Zerg had stopped. They didn't quit until they reached the outside. Once out, they rested near a small lake. "What…in God's…name happened back there?" Ashley gasped.

"When Gloria…stepped foot into their base…she…she triggered the…the sunken colonies. They protect the hive…and only attack when it detects ground enemies. Zerg can't speak our language except…their leaders so we must be able…to speak their language or have their form. We **cannot** go back unless we figure out a way to avoid the Zerg units and talk to the leaders. But it's not going to be easy. The Zerg units will do anything and I mean _anything_ to protect their masters," Duke explained, finally getting his breathing normal.

"Sheesh, you remind me of Melissa. You explain every detail," Jessica said, "and sometimes take forever to get to the point."

Duke smiled by the compliment. "Anything else we need to know?" Johnny asked.

"Yes. A lot more," Duke started out. "Unless you want me to do what Melissa did when you guys had your first enemies then I'll explain what I can."

"I don't think we'll need you to lecture us on the Zerg's history, but we will need to know the units," Gloria explained.

"Maybe he should tell us about their history," Zerahk said.

"But why?" Caitlin asked.

"We could learn a lot more of the Zerg," Rorahk said.

"True, but we'll be wasting time," James said.

"And what kind of information would we get from history? I mean it's—boring!" Ashley complained.

"We may have not been with you before but you tend to learn more from the history of a monster. We could learn the Zerg's weakness and their units and what we can do to avoid killing ourselves," LavFlame said.

"Hey, we can do this with the next monster. Only God knows if Melissa is heading this way now!" Duke yelled.

"He's right," Orlando said. "We need to get going."

"But not without _some_ knowledge of the Zerg," Xalahk said.

"We need to at least know units and structures of the Zerg," Seerahk said.

"Then units and structures it is," Duke said.

He instructed them to sit while he began to tell them what they needed to know. "First let's do the structures," Duke started out. "The biggest structure and the heart of the hive is well…the Hive. The larvae around it become eggs when the Zerg ruler, who inhabits the Hive, orders more to be born. The hive also gives the Zerg special abilities like dig and healing. The Hive itself can heal itself but it takes much time. The Hive can absorb much punishment but once it's destroyed the horde will eventually die unless the Zerg are able to mutate to another with the price of minerals and gas. If we destroy it, we'll kill the rulers. Another structure that we need to target is the Spawning Pool, which enables the Hive to create Zerglings. Zerglings are the weakest unit of the Zerg, besides the workers of the hive called the Drones. They are the little things with the separate arms on their backs and have four legs. But the Hive has numerous Zerglings in the horde. With the spawning pool destroyed, it destroys the Hive's ability to create more Zerglings and get reinforcements. The Zerglings are the second fastest hatchers in the horde. The Drones are the fastest, with are the ones with the pincers and the triangle-like body. Drones mutate into the structures that sustain the hive. But as you know it takes much time, depending on the structure. Third structure would be the Hydralisk Den. This allows the hive to create Hydralisks, the snake-like things with the blades instead of claws. But Hydralisks can also become Lurkers, the Zerg that dig underground and use spikes to attack. The Lurkers are basically useless on the surface but very deadly underground. By destroying the Hydralisk den, we destroy the Hive's ability to create them. But expect many Hydralisks to come after us. They're the second most common unit.

"Another unit is the Overlord. But they don't do much. All they do is transport units to other places and maintain control of the horde. They are born through the Hive so they don't need a special structure like the Zergling or Hydralisk. The next structure is the Spire, which can turn into the Greater Spire. This enables the Hive to create Mutalisks, the flying things with the funky C-shaped body and the purple wings. Mutalisks can also transform into two different units: the Guardian and the Devourer. Guardians attack ground units and are slow but strong. They are kind of U-shaped and have like eight legs with large pincer claws. Devourers attack air units and are fast. They also have the funky C-shaped body but do not have wings or anything, and I have no clue how they stay in the sky. Another is the Scourge. These things are small units that kill only air units by killing themselves given that the enemy isn't too big.

"Then there's the Ultralisk Cavern, which gives the Hive the ability to create Ultralisks, the most powerful ground unit of them all. They are huge monsters with blades curved toward each other and four hoofed-like legs. There's also the Queen's Nest which help create Queens, the flying things that have six legs and membrane between them and also a spider-like face. They don't attack but they send tiny units that they create to attack. They do damage like infest specific buildings and things like that. The last and final unit and structure is the Defilers Mound and the unit called the Defiler, which have a long body and jagged teeth in the long jaws. These don't attack but they do things that give the horde an advantage. There are two more structures called the Sunken Colonies, which attack ground unit, and Spore Colonies, which attack flying units. The real plan will be to destroy structures like the Spawning Pool and Spire. We need to prevent the Hive from creating reinforcements by killing any eggs and a few of us needs to keep the horde at bay while the rest of us destroy the structures. The first structures we need to destroy are the Sunken Colonies and Spore Colonies for they guard the hive. Then afterwards we'll destroy the other structures and kill the horde. We need to make sure we don't harm the rulers who are Razolax and his 'daughter' Kerrigan. She too will be fighting to protect the Hive. Make sure she is not harmed. She is the only humanoid so she'll be easy to find. She has to be captured but not harmed whatsoever. Razolax is just a giant talking eyeball attached to the Hive. Once we've got him and her, we have to convince them to join us and we should be able to get them in our army. Any questions?"

"My head hurts," Caitlin added.

"Well, that should really help us," Gloria said. "So let's go back in."

Everyone walked back to the cave, now more ready than ever to get the Zerg.


	12. Raging Battle

Chapter XI: Raging Battle

After a good long while, they reached the heart of the cave again. This time the Guardians came along. They would remain out of sight until they heard the fighting begin.

They saw the Zerg once again doing their own thing. "So what do we do again?" Gloria whispered.

"We have to be able to attack the nearest Sunken Colonies," Duke said. "Caitlin, Johnny, can you handle that?"

"No problemo," Johnny said. He and Caitlin hid behind a nearby rock that was closer to the hive's grounds. "We'll have to attack the Guardians afterwards," Duke said. "Zerahk?"

"I and my allies shall do as you say," Zerahk answered.

Johnny and Caitlin got their bows out and got ready but didn't attack until Duke finally gave them the signal. They fired explosive bows at the two nearest Sunken Colonies. They were easily destroyed. Blood flew everywhere and the Guardians could sense danger but didn't know where it came from. "Don't they realize where Cait and Johnny are?" Ashley asked.

"No," Duke replied. "Or else they would've attack. Duh!"

"Besides, Cait and Johnny are hiding again. So they're safe…for now," Gloria said.

"Ok," Duke said. "Zerahk NOW!"

Zerahk, Rorahk, Xalahk, Mertuzahk, Onurahk, and Seerahk suddenly jumped out from the cliff where they were waiting for the command. They used all fours and became the spider-like form they preferred. They jumped on to the nearest Guardians and killed them with a simple stab to the heart. Lifeless bodies fell from the sky. Zerahk and the others quickly retreated back to where they waited before. The Mutalisks didn't see them nor did the Devourers. But they were searching for the attackers. "Johnny, Caitlin, attack again!" Gloria ordered.

Johnny and Caitlin moved to another rock and fired at two more Sunken Colonies with explosive arrows. Johnny and Caitlin came back to Gloria and the others. "Duke, this is going to take forever! We saw some of the hive and there are like…thousands of those Sunken Colony thingies," Caitlin said.

"Then we have to fight airborne," Duke said. "I'm gonna have to use that form."

"What form?" Caitlin questioned, puzzled.

"The form that was created by mistake," Duke said.

"Duke no! We don't know whether you have control of that thing or not," Gloria warned.

"G, do you know what this form is? I have the form of the powerful Imperial Dragoon. They're the strongest type in dragoon society and whether I can control it or not, I have to do this. We all have to fight our best," Duke said.

He got up and jumped into the air. His eyes became crimson red and he grew into the dragon everyone feared. He roared loudly and flew towards the Zerg but he didn't enter the Zerg's base. Instead, he opened his jaws to fire three gigantic orbs of purplish plasma energy. It instantly killed a few Mutalisks. "We have to fight!" Gloria yelled.

She jumped over the rock and transformed into her Predator form. She ran into the Hive's ground and stabbed a Hydralisk with her long blades. The monster roared in pain. Blood leaked from its fatal stab wound. The Hydralisk became lifeless and slipped off of Gloria's blade. She roared in triumph. James became Elder Predator and blasted a small creature that he believed was a Zergling with his plasma cannon. Flesh and bone landed on him and splattered everywhere. It made the Zerg even angrier. "James, watch out!" Gloria warned. James looked behind him and saw a raised blade from a Hydralisk when Caitlin slammed into it. Johnny threw his sword at its head. The monster stood there for a few seconds and then fell dead. "Yes!" he cried in triumph. "We'll take out the rest of the Sunken Colonies, eh Caitlin?"

"Aye, we shall," Caitlin said. "Holler if you need more help!"

Caitlin and Johnny, in their pirate forms, ran away to take care of the other Sunken Colonies. Jessica had become a chimera, a monster that had the body of a lion, the head of a goat on its back, feathered wings, and had a tail with a snake's head, and Leon had become a basilisk, a dragon-like monster with a snake-like body. They blasted and killed Hydralisks and Zerglings. Duke killed Mutalisks, Devourers, and any other Guardians. But he still did not enter the Zerg territory. Zerahk and the other Vahki leaders split up and attacked ground and air units. Seerahk saw Lurkers coming and warned, "The Lurkers are coming! Everyone get off the ground now!"

Gloria, James, Caitlin, Johnny, and Leon heard his warning. Ashley and Orlando were in the air but away from Duke. They feared him in his dragon form. Gloria and the others quickly got off and so did any Vahki leaders. Lurkers dug underground and spikes started to come out. "What are we going to do?" Johnny asked. "We can't just wait here. We're sitting ducks!"

"Seerahk, freeze those holes! Maybe that can help," Gloria ordered.

Seerahk nodded and headed back into Zerg territory. "Ashley, Duke, Orlando, why won't you go in??" James demanded.

"We can't!! We'll die from those Spore Colonies!" Orlando replied.

Gloria then realized after taking a good look around that the hive was littered with the spore colonies, enough to take down more than a dozen air fighters. "We'll take care of that," LavFlame yelled.

The Guardians walked into Zerg grounds. Lurkers attacked them but their spikes hardly fazed them. The Guardians were big and powerfully built, so they could withstand huge amounts of punishment. They opened their jaws and spit out streams of lava. Everything the lava touched caught on fire. It burned the Spore Colonies along with Zerglings, Drones, and Hydralisks. The Zergs screeched in pain. The smell of cruelly burnt flesh filled the air. The Guardians stayed and attacked, despite being slashed, bitten, or stabbed repeatedly.

Seerahk jumped into the air and landed right on top of a hole. He gathered up energy, which circled around his white pincers. Then before the Lurker could come out, Seerahk fired a ball of ice, freezing the entire hole with the Lurker in it. But then another Lurker attacked him, slicing the side of his head. He roared in pain and inserted his serrated blade into the ground, which luckily hit the Lurker's head. The Lurker became lifeless. He removed his blood covered blade from the ground. Another Lurker stabbed his right leg. Icy blue blood dripped from his wound. He growled in anger and froze the attacking Lurker.

Then this time a Hydralisk came up and stabbed him with its own blade. Seerahk screeched as blood squirted from his stab wound. His blood touched the Hydralisk, freezing some of the hydralisk's body. It roared loudly and tried to get the frost off its skin. Seerahk bit its head with his pincers and tore its head off. He could taste the warm sweet blood in his mouth. He let go of the head and continued killing the Lurkers, despite being wounded. Metruzahk came down to help Seerahk. He walked on twos this time. A Lurker came from behind Seerahk. Metruzahk opened his scissor-like weapon and snapped the Lurker's head off. It rolled on the floor and stopped in back of Seerahk.

LavFlame stomped on a few Zerglings and whipped the Hydralisks with his tail. A few other Guardians spit large balls of lava. Everything it touched caught on fire. They destroyed more and more Spore and Sunken Colonies. More reinforcements were born from the hive. "We have to destroy the hive!" LavFlame yelled.

"NO! We can't destroy the hive!!" Duke yelled. "We'll destroy the leader if we do!!"

Then suddenly someone came out from the hive. It was a humanoid with long claws and something like wings without wing membrane on its back. "Now, my Zerg, protect the hive with all your power! Do not give up!!"

"It's Kerrigan," Duke yelled, "the queen of the hive!!!"

Suddenly Defilers and Queens appeared. One of the Queens shot a ball of green slime at Gloria. Gloria fell to the ground but wasn't hurt. She tried to get up and move but the green slime slowed her down considerably. A Defiler opened its mouth and fired a large ball of red smoke, which surrounded Gloria and James. The smoke was very thick and it was hard for them to see anything. Subsequently the mightiest ground Zerg came. Gloria and James couldn't really see it and Gloria was still sluggish from the green goo the Queen had spat at her. The Ultralisk raised one of its blades and was close to literally slicing James in half when it was instantly killed by a ball of purplish laser energy. Then red smoke was blown away by a powerful gust of wind. Gloria and James looked behind them and saw Duke. "Guys, take care of the Zerg units! LavFlame, Onurahk, Rorahk, Zerahk, and I will take care of the other structures!" Duke ordered.

Then they heard a scream. Gloria and James looked back to see Jessica and Leon overwhelmed with Zerglings. _Damn! Duke was right when he said they were the most numerous_, Gloria thought.

"C'mon we have to go now!" Gloria yelled.

"Right!" James said.

They both ran towards Leon and Jessica as well as killing any Hydralisks and Zerglings that came their way. The Guardians took care of the Ultralisks but thankfully there weren't a lot of these monsters for it took a very long time for them to hatch from their egg. Jessica was slashed from Zerglings and was slowly dying from the loss of blood. Leon was getting weaker and weaker as he lost even more blood than Jessica. Zerglings ripped through his scales and bit off his flesh. Other Zerglings literally tore off Jessica's wings and slashed at her. Jessica and Leon couldn't take it anymore. They were weak, tired, and in tremendous pain.

They finally gave in and fell down. "Jessica! Leon!" Gloria cried. She was very worried about them and thought they wouldn't make it. But suddenly two Ultralisks stopped them in their tracks. "Get out of my goddamn way!!" Gloria yelled.

"Gloria, go help Leon and Jessica! I'll handle these guys myself!" James said.

"No! I'm not leaving you!" Gloria shouted.

"Gloria, you have to help them! They'll die if one of us doesn't go and help them! I will hold them off and you help Leon and Jessica!" James explained.

"But—" Gloria was about protest when James interrupted her.

"GO!!!" James shouted.

He started fighting the two Ultralisks and despite being extremely worried about him, she ran off to help Leon and Jessica. But something happened before she reached them. They started to transform again but not into their original forms. Jessica became totally white and Leon became a dark purple color. They both became large yet well built horses. Jessica was completely white, including her mane, wings, and tail. Leon was completely purple and had a golden mane and tail. He had silver hooves and had blue head armor with three red spikes, one on the top and two sticking out from the side. His eyes were black and Jessica's eyes were blue. They both whinnied and kicked their legs into the air, smacking the Zerglings. Then Jessica took to the air and started charging up her energy. Gloria could see water spiraling around her wings. Then with one flap of Jessica's wings, she fired big balls of water. It slammed into many Zerglings, causing them to run away to avoid being hit any more. Leon stomped on to the head of a Zergling, crushing its skull. More Zerglings came and attacked Leon for he seemed the most vulnerable. Leon snorted and head butted a Zergling. He ran faster and faster until he smacked the Zergling into a rock. It died instantly. More Zerglings came and Leon jumped high into the air. He jumped on to another rock and used his jumping skill to avoid the Zerglings as well as kill some of them. "What the hell?" Gloria wondered. "Why would they turn into horses when they have the metamorphis spell? Hell, why horses??"

Then Hydralisks came up to her and were about to attack her when Leon smacked into her. Gloria was barely hanging on to him. She finally got on his back and asked him, "What is up with all of the jumping?"

"I don't know," Leon replied. "But whatever horse I am, I can jump pretty high."

"As well as run very fast," Gloria added when everything she saw was like a blur. "What are you supposed to be?"

"I think I'm supposed to be a stallion but a very different one. I don't even know what kind of horse is purple," Leon replied. "But it doesn't matter now. Hang on!"

He suddenly jumped up high into the air and landed on a tall rock. "This is kind of cool," Gloria commented.

Then they saw tiny white things heading towards them. "What the hell are those?" Leon asked.

Then something white with big wings blocked their way. Jessica said something and Leon and Gloria could hear the tiny things' bones _cracking, _like something invisible was crushing it. The monsters cried in pain and fell to the ground. "Thank God Jess, you came. What were those things?" Leon asked.

"Probably the Scourge," Jessica said. "Now we have to help keep the Zerg at bay! Let's go!"

Jessica, Leon, and Gloria ran to the others to help out. As they were doing that, Duke, LavFlame, Zerahk, Onurahk, and Rorahk took care of the structures. They started destroying the structures that enabled the Hive to create powerful units. Duke destroyed the Ultralisk Cavern with a blast of his purple plasma, LavFlame destroyed the Greater Spire with a wave of lava, Onurahk and Rorahk destroyed the Hydralisk Den with their power over rocks, and Zerahk destroyed virtually all the Sunken Colonies, Spore Colonies, and Creep Colonies (turns into Spore and Sunken Colonies) with blasts of water and his weapons. "I'll go after Razolax! Zerahk, Onurahk, go after Kerrigan! Do not hurt her!!" Duke commanded. "LavFlame, take care of the rest of the structures and the Drones!"

Everyone did what they were told to do. Duke transformed back into himself and landed feet first on the ground. He looked around to see Drones already trying to rebuild the structures they destroyed. Then he saw LavFlame opened his mouth to spit out balls of lava. The stench of burnt flesh became even stronger in the air. Duke then concentrated on getting to the Hive. He also saw Gloria, Leon, Ashley, Orlando, Caitlin, Johnny, and Jessica fighting off Zerg. But he did not see James. "Where is he?" he questioned.

Then he saw James on the ground in front of him, bleeding to death. He also saw two Ultralisks coming towards him. They were both torn up pretty badly. Duke growled and ran to his aid. One of the Ultralisks raised its blade high into the air and was about to bring it down when Duke slammed into it. It slid on the ground, scraping its left side. The other one smacked Duke with its blade. He fell on the ground. The Ultralisk roared and ran towards him when a black thing crashed into it. Duke looked up to see Orlando and Ashley attacking the Ultralisk. "Duke! Get out of here now! We'll handle it from here!" Orlando shouted.

"But James will die!" Duke shouted.

"We will take care of him. Go!" Orlando yelled.

Duke nodded and ran to the Hive. The Ultralisk slashed Orlando and smacked Ashley. Ashley got angry and fired a ball of dark energy. It struck the Ultralisk's head, exploding on contact. Blood, flesh, and bone splattered everywhere, including Ashley and Orlando. The headless carcass fell to the ground. Ashley smiled in triumph but heard Orlando yelp in pain. She turned around to see him on the ground. The other Ultralisk had stomped on his right leg, crushing it. "No!" Ashley screamed.

She flew quickly at the other Ultralisk and slashed its face. It roared in pain and anger and slashed her back. She groaned and turned around to face it when it bashed her with one of its feet, breaking her ribs. She screamed in pain and landed on her back. She couldn't move and neither could Orlando. The Ultralisk slowly walked towards them. Ashley couldn't think of anything to save themselves. Even worse, Zerglings were heading towards them as well. She could only watch as they got even closer. She knew that if she didn't do anything, she and Orlando would die.

But then she felt herself changing into something new. She could see herself changing back into a human, but not herself. She looked down at herself and saw new things. She was now wearing black armor with golden lines, knee-high boots, and a long cape with razor blades on the sides of it. She had a large disc with blades on the edges. She looked at Orlando to find him changed as well and just as puzzled as her. He was now _shirtless_, had a weapon around both arms that had two razor blade wings on both sides, and had black pants with black boots. He had a black tattoo on his right and left shoulder.

He stared at his sort-of new self. Ashley was just as speechless as he was. But they immediately took their mind off of it and faced the oncoming Zerglings and Ultralisk. The nearest Zerglings jumped at them. At the same time, Ashley and Orlando slashed at them, cutting them into pieces. One of them was sliced in half down the middle. The Zergling's insides fell to the ground and a pool of blood was around them. Pools of blood also surrounded the other dead Zerglings. The Ultralisk was still coming at them. Ashley and Orlando held their weapons out and shouted, "Expuls hur vigard!"

Suddenly a wave of darkness exploded from their weapons. The darkness blasted the Ultralisk off its feet. It smacked it into the cave walls, killing it instantly. Ashley and Orlando smiled in triumph and went to the others.

Duke, on the other hand, was still running towards the Hive, trying to avoid the oncoming Zerg but at the same time trying to kill any Drones and eggs. He was getting closer to the Hive when a Lurker unexpectedly attacked him, tearing his leg to the bone. Duke screamed in pain and slid on the ground, scraping his shoulders. He clenched his teeth to try to control the pain. The Lurker's spikes were getting closer and closer, but Duke couldn't think of anything. He tried to get up but a new explosion of pain got him to stay on the ground. Why he couldn't just heal himself was because he didn't have enough energy to heal a gash as large as his own. The healing spell required a lot of energy depending on the size of the wound. The bigger it was, the more energy it required.

The Lurker's spikes were a few inches away now. But then something stopped the Lurker. It came out from the ground and started heading somewhere but it seemed _disoriented_. He looked at it puzzled but saw Metruzahk and realized what had happened to the Lurker. Metruzahk had poisoned it and it was slowly dying. "Duke go! Go and do what you need to do!" Metruzahk yelled.

He stared at Metruzahk for he didn't want to leave him to fight. _Metruzahk is doing this alone and it's time to leave. You'll die if you don't move, now GO!!_

He got up but took his time to avoid hurting himself even more. He felt a wave after wave of pain but ignored it this time. When he was finally up, he staggered towards the Hive, dragging his leg as he went. Blood seeped freely as he continued and new blasts of pain formed with each painful step, even when he was dragging it. He finally made it to the Hive when a newly created Ultralisk came out from nowhere and blocked his way. Duke growled in anger and couldn't take it anymore. His gash had weakened him and he was on the verge of collapse. The Ultralisk roared in his face and raised its curved blades. It smacked him with its big right blade. Duke fell to the ground, landing on his already scraped shoulder. He screamed as a new wave of pain hit him. The Ultralisk walked up to him and raised one of its feet right above his skull. It was about to bring it down when something picked it up. Duke looked up to see a Guardian with the Ultralisk in its mouth. It threw the monster to the other side of the cave. "Hurry Duke! We cannot hold on much longer!" he said.

Duke tried to continue but he felt dizzy and light-headed. He was suddenly picked up by someone. He saw a dark purple horse with black eyes and armor on its head. He didn't know where this horse had come from but he was just thankful that it picked him up. "Duke, are you ok?" the horse asked.

Duke recognized the voice. "Leon! Thanks for helping me but we must go in the hive now!" he said.

"All right," Leon said. "Hang on!"

Duke held onto Leon's golden mane, making sure he didn't pull on it, as Leon ran to the other side of the Hive and entered. He had to walk for many things were in his way. The two men finally reached the core of the Hive. In the middle was a big eyeball attached to the walls of the Hive. "Eww," Leon said.

"Ew is right," Duke said with a disgusted look.

"Why do you persist to attack us mortals?" Razolax asked.

"We simply wish for you to join us…Razolax," Leon replied.

"We are in a war with a strong being named Tichondrius. He is planning to take control of Earth and will take control of you if you do not join us. We are creating an army of only the best creatures and we knew that you previously were on a quest for power. We know you have powerful units that would be a great help to us. But if you refuse, know this. Soon Tichondrius will go after you and if you refuse to join him, he will eradicate your kind," Duke clarified.

"Well you have proven your strength so we shall help you in your expedition. We shall do as you say," Razolax said.

He closed his eye—or his entire body to be exact—and stopped the Zerg from attacking Gloria and the others. The Zerg returned to the Hive and waited outside. Suddenly someone came in and this particular person seemed to be very angry. "Razolax what are you doing??" Kerrigan asked angrily. "They're our enemies, not our allies!!"

It seemed that Onurahk and Zerahk were unsuccessful at capturing her. "They have proved that they are worthy enough for us to help," Razolax explained. "And they have claimed that this Tichondrius will soon take control of us and kill us if we refuse."

"That doesn't mean we should trust them! They could be lying themselves! We can't trust them!!" Kerrigan groused.

"Well then don't trust us and watch your kin die as Tichondrius comes and kills you for refusing to join! I mean, you don't work for evil and he _is_ evil," Leon said.

"Though I still sense that _you_ will work for him, considering that you were evil yourself," Duke added. "So…you either join us or die."

Kerrigan growled in anger. She didn't appreciate someone who seemed to be mocking her. True, she was evil before, but a certain incident changed that and she put it behind her. She believed that these two men were making her sound as if she still were evil. "Fine, but if I see that you are not true to your word and you are helping this Tichondrius, then I _will_ kill both of you and the rest of your pathetic crew," she explained.

"You won't have to deal with us, at least not yet. And our team isn't pathetic!" Duke bellowed.

"We _did_ wipe out most of your kin," Leon noted in a soft voice.

"You can stay here and we can summon you for help. All we need to do is give you this," Duke said, taking out a small device. He handed it to Kerrigan. "We can contact you through this. When we need help, we can press this button here, activating an alarm."

Duke showed her the button they would press to activate the device which would summon them when needed. "Now, if we're done here, we shall leave you to your work," he said.

"Then you shall," Razolax said. "We have nothing else to discuss."

Duke nodded and Leon walked out of the hive. But while he was on his way out, Leon saw Duke nodding off as if he were falling asleep. "Duke, are you ok?" he asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm—" Duke started to say when he closed his eyes tightly. Leon looked at him, puzzled. It seemed to him that Duke was trying to get his vision to normal when he opened his eyes again. Leon stared at him as he continued. "Duke?" he asked.

"Yeah I'm fine," Duke said. He closed his eyes tightly again and opened them a few seconds later. Leon was still puzzled.

"Is there something wrong with your eyesight?" he asked.

"Sort of," Duke said. "I'm seeing like…doubles of everything. Like two of everything basically."

Then he suddenly blacked out and was about to fall off when Leon stopped him with his dark energy. He could feel something trickling from the side of his body and took a glance to see blood. It was coming from Duke's injured leg and he realized what had caused Duke to black out. He trotted out the Hive and told the others that they needed to go now. They all walked out quickly and headed to yet another cave but they had to fly to reach this one. It was high inside a cliff but offered great protection. Because of the extensive energy they had used hardly anyone had the energy to heal Duke so Ashley bandaged up Duke's leg as best as she could and she and the others watched him for the rest of their hard-fought day.


	13. Fight Between Allies

Chapter XII: Fight Between Allies

Melissa woke up at night again. She got up and slowly stretched. She then took her time getting back to the fortress and was about to go to her cell when a cobraman knight stopped her. She glared at the monster but the knight just said, "You have been assigned to a new cell. Follow me."

Melissa was puzzled but followed the monster nonetheless. The cobraman knight led her high into the fortress until finally they reached a bigger cell that wasn't as bad as Melissa's old one. "You are to stay here from now on," the knight stated and then he left, locking the door. Melissa looked around and saw her new cell. It didn't have the dungeon like appearance like the other. But it was even colder and it was still made from brick. It now had a medium-sized bed hanging from the wall and a barred window with a better view. Then she remembered the blanket she received from Reptile. As if he read her mind, Reptile appeared from nowhere and asked, "Did you forget this?"

Melissa was startled when he said that. "Jesus Reptile! You scared the living hell out of me!" she said with a smile. "How did you know I was here?"

"I overheard the cobraman knight," Reptile replied. "Here!"

He handed her the blanket. She took it and asked, "What did you do for the day?"

"Well I wanted you to meet someone," Reptile said. He looked to his right and motioned someone to come to him. Melissa saw a crystal dragon coming towards the door. "Melissa, meet Drake, the one that's been helping your friends," he said.

"You're Drake?" Melissa questioned.

"Yes," Drake nodded, "and I must say your friends are really nice people. That Gloria is a very wise leader and the one you love, Duke is well…very protective."

"Thanks," Melissa uttered. "How are they?"

"I do not know," Drake answered. "I just came back today. Before I left, they were going to have the Zerg join their growing army. I shall return as soon as possible."

Melissa was impressed once more by her friends. They were trying to get a powerful race to join them. But she still hoped that they were ok. The Zerg would not join someone that easily. "Thanks Drake. You and Reptile have been a great help," Melissa remarked.

Drake nodded in reply. "We should get going," Reptile said. "We'll see you tomorrow."

Melissa nodded in reply and was once again left alone. Like always, she lied down on the bed, wrapped herself with the blanket, and slept.

Duke awakened inside a large and warm cave. The sun was high up in the sky. He tried to get up but his leg started hurting again. He gritted his teeth and groaned but managed to look at his leg. He saw it bandaged up with a very bloody bandage. He groaned again and lied back down. But then Gloria walked towards him and asked, "How you doing?"

"Fine," Duke replied. "Has Drake returned yet?"

Gloria shook her head. "I don't know when he's returning," she said.

"Who are we after next?" Duke asked.

"I don't know. I don't know of any nearby monsters."

"I know of one," someone said. Gloria and Duke looked behind them to see Zerahk on twos. He walked slowly towards them and knelt down beside them. "There is one being I know of that is very close," he stated.

"And that is who?" Gloria questioned.

"This being is of great legend. This legend has annihilated evil for years," Zerahk continued. "He is known as the Dark Paladin. His true name is unknown."

"The Dark Paladin?" Duke questioned. "He is nothing but a legend. He can't be real!"

"He is a real living being Duke. You may have heard that he is just a legend. But he is a real wise and powerful magician. He teaches all of spell casters. The greatest of magicians, the ones known as the Dark Magician and the Dark Magician Girl, have been trained by Dark Paladin himself," Zerahk continued. "This great being can become part of our army. We'll be virtually invincible."

"Then we should get going," Gloria said.

"But I can barely get up," Duke said.

Gloria held out her hand and helped Duke up. His leg was still in pain but it wasn't as bad as the day before. He limped to the mouth of the cave before he collapsed. "Are you ok?" Zerahk asked.

"I'm still weak," Duke responded. "I've lost too much blood. My leg is like dead."

"Then we'll help you," Gloria said. "C'mon. Let's wake the others."

Gloria and Zerahk woke up everyone else and told them of their plan. They needed to go a few miles to meet this Dark Paladin. Once they were ready, they left the cave and using teleportation, got back to the ground. Leon had become his horse form and had Duke on his back. They finally reach an ancient looking temple with strange symbols scratched on the surface. They slowly walked towards the temple. "Shouldn't we get them to come out?" Johnny asked.

"No," Zerahk said. "We need to invade this place. Ok, maybe not invade but at least enter with caution. We don't want to be killed by the Dark Paladin."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Orlando asked. "Let's go!" They entered the temple and searched for the great magician.

Melissa was already heading towards the ancient grounds of Dark Paladin, the next monster on Tichondrius' list. She had heard of the magician's power and she feared him. Even with her destructive power, she would be too easy of a match for the almighty paladin. But she had no choice. She didn't believe she would get him to join anyway. He was a very good being, not evil. She finally reached the sacred temple and slowly went inside. She looked around and saw many ancient relics and items. "Wow," she whispered to herself.

Then she could hear talking. She stayed quiet and quietly walked to where the talking was coming from. She could hear a faint voice muttering something, but she could barely make out what they were saying. She heard a few words like "We…to join us in…to stop" but she couldn't hear the rest. But once she got closer she understood what they were saying. She hid behind a pillar of rock and listened carefully. "And if we refuse…you say we'll be destroyed?" a male asked.

"Yes." A female voice this time.

_This female sounds so familiar but why? _she thought. She believed that she knew this female but she wasn't sure who it was. "So will you join us and help us go against Tichondrius?" the female asked.

Melissa gasped loudly when she heard his name. "Attack now!" Tichondrius yelled.

She took a deep breath, leaped out from the pillar, and fired an orb of electricity. A cloud of dust and small rocks formed. Then she was blasted with a powerful ball of darkness. She was smacked into the wall and looked up to see the Dark Paladin himself. He had blue armor with golden lines and his staff had blades on the top, making it look like a sword. He had dark grayish hair and his skin was turquoise. She stared in awe but snapped out of it quickly. Dark Paladin fired another sphere of darkness and hit Melissa. She was blasted out of the temple. Melissa flew into the air and was about to fire a stream of ice when a black thing flew in front of Dark Paladin. "No more Melissa! We have him and you'd better leave now!" It was the same female voice and Melissa realized who it was. It was Gloria herself.

Then something blasted her on the back. She yelled in pain and fell to the ground on her chest. She looked up to see the one and only Imperial dragoon flying in front of her. "Duke," Melissa whispered.

Someone then stood in front of her. She looked up and found an Elder Predator looking down on her. Then the Predator sunk its long, cruel blades into her back. She roared loudly and looked at it angrily. She bit the Predator's ankle, crushing it. It roared loudly. Melissa threw it against Duke, smacking both of them against a cliff. She was grabbed by the neck by Gloria. "I'm sorry Melissa but I've had enough. I must do what I must to protect my friends and keep you from taking my monsters!" she yelled.

She grabbed Melissa with her claws and threw her against the cliff. Melissa growled in anger and, revealing her teeth, roared loudly. She suddenly yelled, "Blodr aomr!"

Blades suddenly erupted from the sides of Melissa's tail. A row of them suddenly appeared on her chest, breaking through the chest armor, and running down to the end of her tail. Some also appeared on her back and ran down her spine to the end. One jagged blade arose from the top of her nose and bottom of her chin. The spikes on her elbows grew even bigger and more deadlier. Finally curved blades appeared on the back of her leg, curving down.

Melissa charged at Gloria and wrapped Gloria with her spiked tail, piercing her flesh with the multiple blades. She screamed in pain and Melissa was suddenly hit with a blue plasma ball. She glared at the Elder Predator and opened her jaws to fire a cone of frost when she was stopped by a white horse with large wings. Then she was impaled with a spike. She looked back to see a purple horse with armor on its head which was where the spike was from. She roared yet again and electricity shot from her body, blasting the two horses. She suddenly transformed into her dragoon form. The others just stared at her in surprise, giving her the chance to attack. She roared loudly and fired arrows of blue energy, blasting everyone. Then two magicians showed up from nowhere. "You are to not to interfere evil one! You shall die!" one of them said. Then Melissa realized that the dark purple armored magician with the green rod was the Dark Magician and the other that wore blue armor with pink lines and a small blue rod was the Dark Magician Girl. They both raised their rods and fired a large ball of golden energy. Melissa was hit with tremendous power. She felt an explosion of pain throughout her body. She fell to the ground, pain pulsing inside her. Her wings had been burned off and she could feel burns all over. She then realized that the two magicians had used their almighty attack, Dark Burning Magic. She saw her friends approaching her cautiously.

Melissa quickly transformed and flew back into the air. She didn't want to cause more damage or hurt anybody. She quickly left, leaving her friends to take the Dark Paladin. With one more glance, she headed back to the fortress, ready to endure Tichondrius' punishment.

"That was easy," Johnny commented.

"Almost too easy," Gloria said.

"We thank you for helping us," Dark Paladin said. "We shall join you on your crusade for victory."

"We as well," Dark Magician said.

"Really?" Orlando asked.

"Yes! You have helped us and in return we shall help you. Besides, we annihilate all of evil," Dark Magician Girl replied.

"Good," Gloria said, helping James up. "Let's leave now. We have wounded to attend to."

Melissa quickly went inside to the Meeting Room. Tichondrius was already there and Melissa already knew he was furious. "Do you realize what you've done??" he asked. It sounded like he was trying to control his anger.

"Yes. I—I know what I've done," Melissa said.

"And yet you still back down?? You _let_ them take Dark Paladin! You _let _them take the other magicians! Failure will not be tolerated in this fortress!! When I tell you to get a monster, you get it! I will not deal with this Melissa!" Tichondrius shouted at the top of his lungs. "You've disappointed me for the last time!"

He gave the cobraman knights the sign to take her away. She was shackled on her hands and they started heading to a new room. Melissa walked slowly alongside the cobraman knights. She knew what was coming and hoped that she could handle it herself. Finally after several minutes, they reached a room where hundreds of cobraman knights, Rahkshi, Protoss, mutated spiders, great moths, cybernetic birds, and cybernetic dragons were yelling something. Melissa didn't pay attention to what they were saying but she knew that Tichondrius had gathered them while she was gone once he learned of her retreat.

A cobraman knight took off her shackles but put her hands in yet another pair of shackles that were floating in the air. She tried to get her hands out, but couldn't. "You've drawn quite a crowd," the cobraman knight noted. "News spread quickly, don't you think?"

"If they came here to hear me beg, they'll be disappointed," Melissa said.

"Are you sure?" the cobraman knight asked.

Melissa gave him a confused look. Suddenly she felt the shackles heat up and could feel her wrists burning. Then she could feel her entire body burning. She groaned in pain and clenched her teeth. The Rahkshi and the other soldiers of Tichondrius were _cheering_, as if they enjoyed her pain. "Let this be a lesson to all those who decide to defy our great master, Tichondrius!!" the cobraman knight yelled.

Melissa felt more pain as the heat became more intense, especially with the chest plate on. She groaned a little louder. But she didn't yell or scream or anything like that. She looked up and saw Tichondrius on a stand high in the room. Melissa glared at him but closed her eyes slowly and groaned. She couldn't handle the heat anymore.

Reptile could only watch in horror as Melissa was being tortured just for not getting Dark Paladin. He took a quick glance at Tichondrius who was looking down at her angrily. He was enraged by what Tichondrius was doing. But he couldn't do anything to stop him. He took one last quick look and quickly left, not daring to look back.

"So this…thing was your friend?" Dark Paladin asked.

"Yes," James replied. "She's fought us several times before."

"Why?" Dark Magician asked.

"Because she's been forced by the evil one we told you, Tichondrius," Orlando explained.

"When will Drake be back?" Leon suddenly brought up.

"I don't know," Jessica replied. "He didn't say when he would return."

"Then who are we after next?" Ashley asked.

"I don't know. We've done so much already. I'm really tired," Gloria answered. "And I don't know of anything that's nearby."

"I know of one," Dark Magician Girl said.

"What is it?" Metruzahk asked.

"It's another magician like us, but he'll be easier to get," Dark Magician Girl continued. "He's known as the Sorcerer of Dark Magic. He shall help you with your quest to defeat this Tichondrius."

"I don't know if I can get up," Duke said. "I'm tired and so is everyone else."

"Then we'll go ourselves," Dark Paladin said.

"And we'll go with you," Onurahk said.

Metruzahk, Xalahk, and Seerahk stood behind him. "Will you be able to keep up?" Dark Magician asked.

"Of course," Xalahk said.

The four Vahki turned their arms and heads to be their spider-like selves. "We're right behind you," Seerahk said.

Dark Magician nodded and they all went to find the Sorcerer of Dark Magic. LavFlame came inside and lied down for a while. "Don't you guys ever get tired?" Caitlin asked.

"Of course we do, but guarding is what we do," LavFlame replied, head resting on his hands.

"You know, we can just take turns watching out for each other," Johnny said. "You don't have to always do it."

"I know," LavFlame said. "But we do what we must. It's the least we can do to help you."

LavFlame soon closed his small black eyes and slept. "He must've been tired," Duke said.

"He spends the entire night protecting us. Of course he would be tired," Gloria said.

"What will we do now?" James asked.

"Just rest. We wake up every morning at like 5 or 6:00 AM," Ashley replied.

"Yeah," Gloria said. "We'll stay here and plan our next attack. And rest of course."

"G, I thought about something that may help us a bit," Duke said.

"What?" Gloria wondered.

"What if we were to create a base of our own, large enough to house our allies? And we can use that base to heal ourselves and make up plans. It'll be better than having to find a cave or a secure place all the time. And soon our army will be so big, we won't be able to hide as easily. All we need to do is build this base in a secluded and safe area."

"Yeah, we should do that. Our mission will be a little easier. We can put our supplies there, replenish ourselves, and train. As our allies can stay there until the time is right. What'd ya say G?" Orlando agreed.

Gloria thought about it for several minutes. "Ok, we'll do that. We can start that as soon as we get our other monster. Once done, we'll start. Now let's just rest," she said.

Finally, everyone got comfortable and soon began to restore themselves.

The burning heat had finally ceased. Smoke rose from the chest plate and from her body itself. Melissa felt excruciating pain and could feel her skin burned off. Like it was _melting_ off. The cobraman knight removed the chest plate and threw it to the ground. She was glad that the plate was finally off. She took the most damage on her chest for the plate made the burning worse. She thought it was finally over but something rose from the ground. The cobraman knight picked it up and looked at the top of it. It was completely heated and Melissa gasped when she realized what he was going to do. He was going to brand her and leave some weird sign on her. Everyone cheered and yelled something. The cobraman knight got closer and suddenly he pressed it against her already damaged chest. She could actually _hear_ her flesh burning. Melissa gritted her teeth even harder but couldn't handle it anymore. "Ahhhh!!!" Melissa roared a tortured roar.

Then in a few seconds the torture was over. The cobraman knight removed the heated metal. Melissa's legs shook beneath her and she felt like she were about to collapse. The shackles opened up, finally releasing her. Two cobraman knights grabbed her and took her to her cell. They threw her inside and locked the door.

Melissa moaned in a soft voice. She felt much pain, especially where the cobraman knight placed that heated metal. She looked at her chest and saw some kind of weird sign imprinted on her. She took in heavy breaths and tried to move but was just too exhausted to do anything else. She heard someone running towards her cell. "Melissa!" someone yelled.

Melissa didn't have the strength to take a glance but she recognized his voice. "Reptile," Melissa groaned.

"I can't believe Tichondrius did this," Reptile said, sounding as if he were going to cry.

Melissa could sense his sadness. She knew he never liked to see people and monsters tortured or in pain. "Reptile, don't worry about me," Melissa said. "You shouldn't be worried about this. I'll survive it."

"I'm gonna send Drake now. I'll make sure your friends come ASAP!" Reptile said.

He quickly left, leaving Melissa alone. She felt very numb and fainted from the agony.

About an hour or two later, LavFlame raised his head quickly. He heard the beat of wings nearby. "What's wrong LavFlame?" Gloria asked.

"Something is flying here," he replied.

"It can't be Melissa," Duke said. His injury had healed from Jessica's spell. "I don't want to fight her anymore. I'm tired of fighting her."

"But why would she—Tichondrius—attack at night?" Caitlin asked.

"Maybe to catch us off guard," Ashley said sarcastically.

"It's not her," LavFlame said. "It's a pure dragon."

"Drake?" James asked.

Suddenly a dragon landed a few inches away from the mouth of the cave. Drake quickly walked towards the cave when Zerahk and a guardian blocked him. They didn't realize that it was him since it was really dark out. "It's……me! Drake!" he yelled.

Zerahk and the guardian got out of his way. He ran inside but was panting heavily. "Drake, what's wrong?" Gloria asked.

"I have…news of…Melissa," Drake gasped.

"What??" Duke asked. "What do you know about her?"

"She's…been…punished. She's been branded …and almost burned…to death," Drake panted. Cleary he had flown a long distance but had used teleportation to help him. He was very exhausted.

He struggled to gain some air, but it took him a while. "What do you mean she's been punished??" Duke demanded, immediately getting up.

"She's been branded and was nearly burned to death," Drake repeated. "You have to be careful with the monsters you want."

"Why was she punished? Why?!" Duke demanded angrily.

"Because she _allowed_ you to have Dark Paladin, Dark Magician, and Dark Magician Girl," Drake clarified.

"That explains why she left very quickly," Gloria said.

"What can we do to try and prevent this from happening again?" Ashley wondered.

"You cannot do anything to prevent this. This is her decision. If she decides to allow you to take a monster or decides to retreat, he will punish her. You must hurry with your expedition before it's too late."

"Ok. Thanks Drake. Guys, we have to start this base plan now! We cannot afford to lose any more time. Tomorrow morning as soon as we wake up, we will begin. The faster and the sooner this is done, the better. Then we'll have enough time to recruit other monsters. We have to try and avoid her best we can. If she gets to a monster before us, we will retreat immediately. We cannot allow Tichondrius to hurt her again or use that virus to kill us. And I'm not about to allow him to do it again. Drake will you be staying with us for the rest of the trip?" elucidated Gloria.

"I will make occasional trips back to my master to keep me up-to-date with what's going on. But I will try to stay as long as I can with you," Drake replied.

"Good. Remember, tomorrow we will start this base and continue our quest to gain monsters. So rest up and get ready!" Gloria yelled.


	14. Black Tyranno

Chapter XIII: Black Tyranno

The sun was taking its sweet time rising into the sky. Pinkish orange light bathed Melissa as she woke up. She got up and shook off any dirt that was stuck to her. She did not have the strength to heal herself at the moment. She placed her hand where she was branded with the strange insignia, which appeared to be two curved blades, one pointing up and the other pointing down. They were both curved and connected. Tichondrius was far more sadistic than she ever imagined. He liked to see his prisoners in pain and would torture them in cruel ways unimaginable if that prisoner were to disobey him. She was desperate to get out. She was hoping her friends wouldn't stand in her way any longer. She missed them so much that she ached. She wished this never happened. She yearned to be home with Duke, be out with her friends, go and finish college, and just be _out_! She didn't want to be Tichondrius' prisoner anymore. She craved for her freedom again. She was thinking so much of being outside, her eyes began to water. She wiped her eyes to try and not cry. She just sat there, silence settling in her jail. Soon her moment of silence was interrupted by Reptile. "Melissa, are you ok?" he asked, clearly concerned.

"Yeah I'm fine Reptile. What is it?" Melissa breathed.

"Well I wanted to make sure you're ok. Also, Tichondrius wishes to see you. He has a new task for you to carry out."

"Fine. I'll be there soon."

Reptile briskly nodded and unlocked the door. He left the room afterwards. Melissa slowly rose to her feet. She staggered to the door and headed to the Meeting Room. The burns had caused much damage to her body. The burning punishment had made her normally thick skin very fragile somehow, so her skin could easily split since it was so thin now. She wasn't sure how Tichondrius did this or what he used but it cost her. Now she could barely move because moving too much would cause her skin to break and she had already been through enough as it was.

She reached the Meeting Room when finally she collapsed on her knees from exhaustion. Tichondrius turned around and saw her on the floor, but didn't seem to care that she was exhausted. He told her the mission like she wasn't even hurt. "You will go against a creature of legend. A creature who is a deadly adversary to all who challenge his great power and maybe someone easy to you. You will find the creature known only as Black Tyranno. He would most likely be east from here in a place called Bloody Wasteland. Bring him to me."

Melissa struggled to get up again and slowly headed to the entrance. She knew of Black Tyranno, who was a powerful yet evil legendary dinosaur. He was known to be extremely aggressive and would attack you if you were even 100 yards away. And the Bloody Wastelands was known to be a very dangerous place. It was like the Sahara desert except rich with a bloody history, hence the name. Many wars had taken place there, affecting the once rich environment and changing it to a harsh environment. And with her being the way she was she has a very low chance of surviving the fight, let alone the chance of surviving the day at the badlands.

At long last she reached the entrance. Before she took off she heard someone call her. She whipped her head back and saw Reptile calling to her. He had huge black paladin-like armor with gold lines on the edges. Beautifully drawn insignias were on the shoulder armor, including the strange insignia that was branded on her. There was a curved blade on the biggest shoulder pads, legs, and tail. The long silver blade he had was different as well. This one was also unusually a little thick but still sharp. It hung in its leather sheath on his black belt. He stopped in front of her and said "I want to help you find this Black Tyranno monster."

"Reptile, it's too dangerous for you. You can die out there," Melissa warned.

"I want to help. I don't care if it's dangerous. If I was able to survive the battle with the Rahkshi then I can fight in this one. Besides, you can't do it alone."

Melissa smiled, admiring Reptile's courage. Although she was worried that he would get hurt, even die, from this battle, something in her told her that he could do it. He was strong, smart, and brave. So she decided to bring him with her. She altered her body to become dragoon and placed Reptile on her back. Reptile was already exultant about going with her. He held on to Melissa's horns on the back of her head tightly and nodded to her when he was ready. With a powerful blast of her wings, Melissa lifted herself into the air and headed to the Bloody Wastelands. With Reptile helping her, she knew she had a much better chance to survive the hard battle ahead of her.

Gloria was the first to wake up. She walked to the entrance of the cave and looked outside to the horizon. The sun was taking its time to rise into the sky. Everything was very silent and peaceful. Gloria took a deep breath and relaxed for a while. Today was going to be a very busy day and the days that would follow. She already had an idea as to how the base was going to be built. She believed it would be better if the base was similar to their base back home. But it would need to be bigger to sustain their allies and it'd have to be in a secretive place so that their enemies couldn't destroy it. They would have to stack up on items that could help them like herbs and other things to help heal them other than using their powers and on weapons that could be made by hand. Gloria just stood there, thinking of the necessary things for the base, when she was startled by someone. She quickly turned around to find Duke in front of her. She let out a deep breath and said, "You scared me Duke."

"Yeah I saw. Sorry about that," Duke apologized. "So are you ready to begin work?"

"Yes I am. Are you?"

"I'm prepared already. Should we wake the others?"

"No not yet. I have to think of a few more things."

Duke studied Gloria for a few seconds before saying, "Gloria maybe you should just take a break for a few days."

"Why?"

"C'mon Gloria, don't think I can't tell that you're stressed out. I know that you have a lot going on in your mind and that might affect our mission to build this. Even James sees it."

Gloria turned away from him and sighed loudly. "That obvious, huh?"

"Yes it is," said Duke. "We're all worried about you Gloria. You're the leader and only you can lead us to victory in our march against Tichondrius. We know you have a lot going through your mind right now. You've got the base to build, you've got to get Melissa outta there, you've got to create an alliance with other monsters, you've got to keep us out of Tichondrius' way, and you've got to lead us to victory. You've got so much to do and God knows how much time we have left before Tichondrius releases his army to the entire world. So we just think that maybe you should just take a break for a few days while we do the construction of this base. And then once we're done go back to our campaign against Tichondrius."

Gloria thought about it for a few seconds. "Are you sure you guys can do this without me?"

"Well you might have to check on us once in a while just to make sure the base is going the way you planned but other than that we can do this while you take a long well deserved break."

"Then I guess I'll try it. Maybe it can help me think about what we're going to do next."

Duke smiled, satisfied of Gloria's answer. "As for the base I want it to be somewhat like our own but not as complex. We need supplies like things to heal us and resources to help us survive. We need to do this in a secluded area, somewhere where it would be extremely hard for anyone, even Melissa, to discover. We also need space for our own allies. We also need to stock up on weapons and all that for our final confrontation. We need to have this done ASAP."

"We'll be on it soon enough Gloria. I'll wake the others and we'll get started immediately." Duke quickly left to awaken the others. Gloria quickly ordered Lavflame and Zerahk to look for a good area to begin building. The two left without delay. But right as Gloria was about to go to the cave to tell the others what to do, the Dark Magician and the rest of his group had returned with another magician. This magician had dark blue armor very similar to Dark Magician but still kind of different. He had a dark blue cape on and a staff that had a blue orb at the very top. The Sorcerer of Dark Magic approached Gloria and said in a deep voice, "My magicians here tell me you need help rescuing your friend and need allies to win a war against an ancient being, am I correct?"

Gloria nodded in reply. "Then we shall help you stop this great evil and help your friend escape. My magicians here will do as you say as will I. We will aid you with all our power."

Gloria was relieved to know that the Sorcerer was willing to help. She knew she had another group of powerful allies helping them now, as well as their first set of legendary beings. "I thank you for joining us in our plight. Right now we need help building a base where we can all stay and I'm going to need your help. We need to find a secluded area where we can build this base. I've already sent two of our other allies to look for one but maybe you can help as well. We need an area that will be very hard for anyone to find."

"We're on it young master," Dark Magician said. He and Dark Magician Girl left to do as they were told. "As for you, great sorcerer, you may stay and rest for a while. We have many busy days before us before we may continue on our campaign. For now, I wish to discuss what we're doing and introduce you to the rest of my group," Gloria explained.

"As you wish," the Sorcerer agreed.

The sun burned high in the sky, sending rays of intense heat. It scorched everything on the ground. Every animal looked for refuge to shelter itself from the sun. Numerous bones were scattered across the vast expanse of cracked ground. There was a small number of cactus and hardly any trees. The trees were scraggly and offered little to no shadow. Hot wind blew across the wasteland.

Reptile and Melissa were extremely hot. Their throats were parched, to the point where they thought they would become dehydrated soon. They were tired and about to collapse. "How can…anyone…survive in this…place?" Reptile panted. His long forked tongue hung out of his mouth like a dog.

"I don't…know. But we better…hurry up before…we die out here," Melissa breathed. She was also panting from the heat.

"Isn't there water…in this place?"

"Dude, water would dry up in this heat. I don't know…how we're going…to find any."

Reptile groaned. He looked to the horizon and thought he saw green. He squint his eyes to try to get a better look and shielded his eyes from the sun. He thought he still saw green. He thought he could see live palm trees along with more green life around it. He thought it could be a hallucination. He nudged Melissa on her side and asked, "Do you see that over there?" He pointed directly at the green stuff far away.

Melissa raised her head to look and saw exactly what he saw. "Yeah, but it's probably…a mirage. No plant life like that can live out here."

"Well…let's check it out anyways. You never…know."

Melissa sighed. "Alright…let's go."

They walked to what Melissa believed to be a mirage. But as they got closer they could actually see more plant life in that area. They actually saw many tall palm trees and much more. When they were half-way there, Reptile finally collapsed. "C'mon Reptile, you can ride on my back," Melissa said.

Reptile climbed onto her back and simply collapsed. Melissa was growing desperate. She didn't think it would be this much trouble just to find a big black dinosaur, let alone so difficult to survive in this blistering heat. Not even her previous home was this hot. As much as she believed it was a mirage, she went on to check if the green was real. If not she would have to abort the mission to come back more prepared. She struggled to go on. As they got closer, she could see more. There were palm trees, bushes, grass, flowers, and much more. The place flourished with plant life. Confused but determined, she continued to walk towards it.

Finally after almost an hour of walking to her destination, she collapsed where the grass began. She couldn't go any farther. But she luckily collapsed in the shade, which cooled her blistering body and sheltered most of her body from the sun. Reptile also began to cool down. He crawled off her body and lied down on the grass. "It looks like it…wasn't a mirage," Reptile finally said.

"We were lucky…this time," Melissa panted.

Suddenly Reptile started smelling the air. "What is it Reptile?" Melissa wondered.

"Do you smell that?" Reptile asked.

"Smell what?"

"Can you smell the water?"

Melissa was about to ask if he was going crazy when she smelled the scent in the air as well. "C'mon! I think I know where it's coming from," said Reptile, suddenly filled with new energy.

Melissa growled in reply and literally dragged herself to follow Reptile. She used her curved claws to dig into the ground and drag herself. She followed Reptile until he finally stopped a few minutes later. When she caught up to him, she saw something that shocked her. What they had smelled truly was water. A large pool of water was in front of them, untouched and very still. The crystal clear blue water rippled occasionally when wind blew at it. It was a weird yet remarkable sight to see compared to the wasteland. Reptile and Melissa stood there in disbelief.

Then shattering the silence, Reptile yelled, "Well what are we waiting for?" In sheer happiness he jumped into the water. Melissa jumped in along with him. While underwater she opened her mouth and swallowed a mouthful of water. Her body was filled with life once more. Her heated body was finally cool. She was filled with energy once more. She quickly arched her back and pointed her head up. She leaped into the air with an explosion of droplets and landed on the ground. After shaking off most of the water, she lied down, resting after such a long and hot trip. Reptile shortly departed from the water and sat by her. He took in a deep breath and was silent for a few seconds. Then said, "It's a miracle we were able to find this. Else we would've died."

"Yes but it just doesn't make any sense. How can water, let alone plant life, exist in a place like this?" inquired Melissa.

"Maybe there's something in the ground that can somehow keep this stuff alive."

"But where did the water come from? It rains here once in a blue moon. And when it does, it quickly dries up. I just don't understand how there can be an oasis here in this godforsaken desert."

"It may always be a mystery but be glad that we found it. At least we have a much better chance to survive."

"Yeah I guess you're right. We probably would've died."

"So how are we going to find this Black Tyranno?"

"It's said he lives in a large cave somewhere here in the desert. All I know is that it's supposed to be part of the mountains far away from here."

"But it could be anymore in the mountains! And we don't even know where the mountains are exactly!"

"I know! But the cave is much different from any other one. And I think I know how to find it. It's said that first we must kill his favorite prey, which are venom spitters, and then go east from an alleged town called the Crossroads until we reach huge old bones. Then from there we go west until we reach mountains. Then somewhere around these mountains is an old tree with many branches but few leaves. And a few yards away there should be a cave with bones at the entrance. We have to place the freshly killed venom spitter by the tree, find a nearby hiding place, and wait. Once he comes out then we'll fight him."

"It seems like a complicated process just to bring out a damn dinosaur."

"Yes but I don't even know if it's true. It's supposed to be a legend and chances are, it's not real. Many have ventured here to see if the legend is true but never come back. It's always been presumed that it's not true. But we have to try it."

"Even if it means dying out here?"

"Believe me Reptile, I'd rather die here than in the hands of Tichondrius. Damn bastard doesn't care if it means our lives. He just wants the fucking thing."

"You do know he could be listening to us right now, right?"

"I didn't take that stupid headphone thing or whatever it is. I don't see the point of it. He somehow knows everything I do but I really don't care if he hears me. I just want to get this over with." Melissa looked up to the sky, barely visible through the leaves of the giant trees, and realized that they had been out in the wastelands for much longer than she suspected. The sky wasn't bright blue, but it was beginning to darken. And the wind started to pick up. Cool air instead of hot air blew against her scales. It started to get cold now. "We'll have to rest here for the night. It'll be more difficult for us to travel in the cold."

"Ok. Who's gonna do the first watch?"

"I'll do it. We'll switch later on."

Reptile nodded in reply. He took off the large armor and unbelted the sheath and placed it aside the armor. Melissa curled up the end of her tail and Reptile placed his head on it. He closed his eyes and slept. Melissa placed her large wing over him to try and keep him warm. She'd do fine in this weather but Reptile would have to be kept warm. She looked out to the horizon, keeping watch.

Reptile awoke with Melissa's wing sheltering him, which had also kept him warm all night. He carefully removed her wing and slipped out. He saw Melissa sleeping peacefully on a patch of grass. _She must've fallen asleep sometime during the night_, he thought. _At least we weren't attacked._ He sauntered to the small pond, rubbing sleep from his eyes. He crouched down and washed his face with the cool water. He then sat down and took in a deep breath and looked to the horizon. He sat there, wondering if the legend was true, if there truly was a town somewhere in this hellhole and a large old tree where Black Tyranno's cave could be found, and also if the legends about Black Tyranno were true. It's said that he's obviously a large black tyrannosaurus rex, with a single spike on elbow joints, gleaming yellow eyes, a row of spikes on both shoulders, curved yellow claws, and a long powerful tail. His jaws are allegedly powerful enough to snap steel and his teeth sharp enough to break through armor. He is said to be agile and stealthy, despite his size and weight. He ambushes his targets when you'd least expect it.

He is also a savage and merciless brute. He takes great pleasure in torturing his victims in brutal ways like slowly tearing them to pieces alive or many other ways, although not as sadistic as Tichondrius' ways. He knew he was putting his life on the line just to help Melissa. He was very apprehensive about this fight but he had to do it. Not only to further help Melissa but to protect Melissa herself.

They had become close ever since the day they met and he didn't want anything to happen to her. He was also doing what he could to make sure her friends were protected as well. He could tell that she was very close to all of her friends, especially the leader named Gloria. And he will not allow Tichondrius to hurt any of them or Melissa again. He had suffered tremendously from the loss of his friends and his family. He knew she missed them dearly, particularly the two humans named Gloria and the love of her life, Duke. And he will not allow her to go through what he went through. He had lost his best friends and his own family, which also consisted of his two and only children. He lost his mother, his children, his brother, his sister, and the love of his own life to the power hungry Tichondrius. He showed no mercy to any of them when Reptile refused to join his army. Reptile only joined to protect his own life and any others that were close to him. Very few of his friends were saved because of his decision. But he never saw them again. Tears filled his eyes as he thought of all those who died because of his refusal. And now he regretted doing that. He remembered it like it was just yesterday……

He was outside playing with his children, a 5-year-old girl named Tazara and an 8-year-old boy named Bloodeye (because his eyes were crimson rather than green, yellow, or black). Reptile's kind aged just like a human but they lived much longer. His love, Reina, was taking a nap inside their home which was created from fine silver. It was a basic home where they all lived happily in a small peaceful village where everyone knew everyone else. His closest friends lived nearby where they celebrated almost every holiday together with their families and spent a lot of time. That day he was enjoying himself like any other day. But suddenly a tall dark, shadowy figure approached him. He felt fear growing inside him as the figure got closer. His children seemed to feel the same way for they hid behind him. The dark figure was still somehow concealed in shadow even though the figure stood completely in sunlight. Reptile figured it could've been some kind of spell, although at that time he didn't understand why anybody would do that. As the figure entered shadow, the darkness seems to disintegrate right before his eyes. The figure was ghostly white with black insignias drawn all over the body. It had large black wings tucked behind its back, brown horns that curved upwards, a long tail, hooves as feet, yellow eyes, and five long black claws on both hands. It had black armor with crimson lines on its knees, chest, waist, and shoulders. It looked at him straight in the eye and said in a deep voice with a smile which seemed sinister for some reason, "Greetings Reptile. I am Tichondrius. I am having warriors join in my army and I wish to enlist you into my army. I've heard many great things about you. From what I have heard, you are a great blade master. You've defeated some of the greatest sword masters of all times. You have defeated the strongest of the strong with your powerful blade which you name Azer'rak. You've assassinated the best beasts in the land with Azer'rak. And because of your great skill in swords, I wish for you to join my army."

Reptile could feel that there was a catch to this. And even if there wasn't a catch, he still didn't like it. He didn't recognize the vampire but his name sounded oddly familiar. He narrowed his eyes, staring at Tichondrius with a suspicious look. Then he made up his mind. "No. I'm not interested."

He turned his back on him and gently pushed his kids inside their home. When he looked back, the smile on Tichondrius' face turned into a frown and he seemed to be angry at his response. Reptile had a bad feeling about this. He hurried his kids inside, closed the door behind, and faced the vampire again. "You might want to reconsider," warned the vampire.

"I've already made up my mind. I will not join you. You can find some other blade master to join your army."

"You are the only one I want and I want you to join my army." Tichondrius looked as if he was getting very irritated.

"Look I don't want to join your damn army and there's nothing you can say or do to make me change my mind."

"Oh yes there is." A menacing smile formed on his face again. Reptile began to fear what he was going to do. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tazara, Bloodeye, and Reina looking out the window. Tichondrius raised his right hand and a ball of flames unexpectedly exploded from it. Reptile gasped. His heart filled with dread as Tichondrius stilled looked at him with a smile and his flaming hand. "Now would you like to change your decision?" Tichondrius grinned.

Reptile thought for a few seconds. "No," he finally said. At the time he thought Tichondrius was going to burn Reptile with the fireball. But Reptile didn't care, as long as his family was safe.

"You will regret you made that decision," informed Tichondrius.

The dread he felt inside his heart grew stronger. He had a feeling Tichondrius would do something to him or his family. Tichondrius abruptly darted his hand forward and shot a ball of fire right at Reptile's family! "NO!" Reptile yelled.

The fireball instantly destroyed the window and hit all three of them. Everything around them caught on fire. Reptile watched helplessly in horror as his family was burned alive. They screamed in pain as the fire slowly burned them. The scalding heat escaped from the house and began to burn Reptile himself. He backed off as the heat became far more intense. Suddenly he heard Tichondrius take flight. He whipped his head around and watched in shock as more houses were set ablaze. "No! Stop Tichondrius! I—I'll join your army!!" he pleaded, desperate for Tichondrius to stop. But he just continued the destruction. Reptile knew it was too late to stop him. The fire had already caused others to be set ablaze. Many of the residents ran out on fire, screaming in agony.

_What have I done?_ He thought in horror. He didn't want to believe that Tichondrius was doing this. He wanted to think this was only a nightmare. He fell to his knees, tears filling his eyes, as his entire village was destroyed. He slammed the ground with both hands and wept. This was entirely his fault. If he had just agreed to join the monster's army, he could've saved everyone, including his own family. But now it was too late. The destruction had been done and there was no way to bring it all back.

A few minutes later, the vile beast landed in front of him. With teary eyes he looked up at Tichondrius' face and was enraged. Tichondrius showed no remorse, only triumph and pleasure. In rage, Reptile got up and charged at him, fist ready. But Tichondrius swiftly caught his wrist and threw Reptile back to the ground. He said, "I think we have an understanding. I will come back for you tomorrow. This should give you enough time to weep for your pitiful family." And he simply took off, heading north.

Almost like it was under a spell, the fire quickly disintegrated until it was nothing more than embers. Reptile slowly got up and looked back at what was once his home. The intense fire had actually burned his home. Nothing remained of his silver home. Everything inside was either burned into cinders or almost burned entirely. Then he saw what filled his heart with grief. The cruelly burned bodies of what was his family. Smoke arose from everything around them. Reptile quickly ran to their bodies and looked at them. They were almost unrecognizable. He crouched by them and moaned in sadness. He bawled over them, filled with much grief and rage. He whispered, "Why couldn't it be me? Why did you all have to die??"

He finally got up and looked around him. He could see burnt corpses everywhere, including his friends. Most of them remained lifeless. Their homes were burned to ashes. Reptile just couldn't bear seeing them and crouched back down. At that very moment, rain began to fall from the heavens, taking out any embers left from the devastating fire. Reptile remained where he was, stilling crying over the bodies of his family. And there he remained until the next day.

The sun was barely rising when Reptile woke up. He had fallen asleep a few feet away from the burned remnants of his home. He slowly got up, still mourning for the loss of Reina, Tazara, and Bloodeye but no longer crying. He slowly got up and decided to search through the ruins of his home. Deep under piles of ash and burnt objects laid Azer'rak, the legendary green blade. He grabbed the sword, which hadn't been damaged from the fire at all, and stared at it for a moment, thinking of all the times it helped him. He had received Azer'rak from his father, Zertul, who had died during a battle with a dangerous Chimera when Reptile was only three. When he was 14, his mother gave him Azer'rak because he was the sole heir at that time. Reptile quickly learned how to fight with the sword and soon used it like his father before him. He began taking the mightiest of creatures down with the legendary sword. The sword saved his life many times, almost like it had a soul of its own. The sword would give him the power to thrust it into the hearts of his enemies when he was close to death. And now Azer'rak had a new mission. It would help Reptile take down Tichondrius and gain revenge for those he killed. But for now he would have to wait for that time to come. For now, he would have to join Tichondrius' army and wait for the right time.

He finally took his eyes off the sword and looked up into the heavens. "I vow to slay Tichondrius no matter what it takes, even if it means my life. I will avenge all of you!" Reptile cried out loud. "I will soon join you, my love and we can be together again. Please, watch over my brother, sister, and mother. I'll make sure that I avenge you, Tazara's, and Bloodeye's death."

He attached Azer'rak's sheath on his belt and sheathed it. He took one last look around what remained of the village and at his burned home. Then he waited for Tichondrius. When he finally arrived, he looked around the whole village with pleasure. Reptile stared at him, the fury growing inside him with every passing second. "So I see you've made the right choice and decided to join me," Tichondrius sneered.

"Just take me with you," demanded Reptile.

"Good. We'll be there soon," said Tichondrius, ignoring what Reptile said. He snapped his fingers and something landed behind Reptile. He looked back and saw a white vampire with large wings, long black claws, dark brown hair, and blue eyes. It seems to laugh at the destruction, which made Reptile much more furious. "Velora, take Reptile to the fortress. You know where to put him," ordered Tichondrius.

"Yes, Master Tichondrius," Velora said. She grabbed Reptile by both shoulders and took him to the fortress Tichondrius had said. Once she reached it, she placed him in a cell.

He has stayed with Tichondrius ever since, taking orders and still waiting for the right time to gain his revenge. He had tried one time but suffered the consequences. His brother, sister, and mother met the same fate as Reina, Tazara, and Bloodeye. Reptile mourned for a few days but eventually stopped. He has not tried anything like that again to this very day. While he stayed there, he met Drake. Drake was only a wrymling (another word for baby dragon) when he was brought to Tichondrius by the other foul vampire named Sylan. Tichondrius treated Drake like crap and constantly hurt him, sometimes to the point where he could kill him. But Reptile took responsibility of Drake. He treated Drake like his own, taking care of him when Tichondrius didn't. They became very close as the months went by. Tichondrius had no use for Drake but kept him anyways.

And then Melissa came along and he became friends with her. And now he would do anything to protect both of them in any way he can. Reptile felt confident that his time for revenge would come soon. For now he had to do what he could for Melissa.

He was looking at his reflection in the water when he finally stopped thinking about what had occurred during his stay with Tichondrius. He didn't realize that by thinking about what had happened, it had provoked him to cry a little and he still was. He wiped away his tears with his hand. "What's wrong Reptile?" someone suddenly asked.

He turned around quickly and saw Melissa looking at him with a concerned expression. "Nothing," Reptile replied, turning his back on her.

"C'mon Reptile, something's up. Is it something personal?"

"Yes."

"Are you going to be ok?"

Reptile didn't answer for a few seconds. He finally said, "I want to tell you something Melissa, about how I ended up here with Tichondrius."

"Reptile you don't need to tell me that. That's your business, not mine," uttered Melissa.

"No, you at least deserve to know." Reptile turned to face her and took in a deep breath. He knew it would be hard to tell or even think about it again but he wanted her to know. He sighed loudly and began his story. He sat there with her for several minutes or so, explaining what happened that fateful day, what took place while he was there, the death of the rest of his family, how he met Drake, and much more. Melissa intently listened to his story. Reptile even told Melissa of the time he himself was tortured by the murderous Tichondrius because of his attempt for revenge. He took off his black leather sleeveless shirt and revealed to her what he had done. Melissa stared at his scars in horror. He had been branded with the same insignia, but instead of being burned, he had been whipped mercilessly. On his back were numerous scars of whipping. Melissa sat there, shocked by the scars. It sent a chill down her spine. He was truly traumatized by everything that had happened. He admitted to her that he hadn't been the same since those tragic events. He would sometimes have emotional outbreaks and wasn't hardly, if ever, cheerful. He continued to have nightmares about that day.

He clenched his fists and, with a trembling voice and watery eyes, said, "I've been waiting for the day when I would get my revenge. He has put me through hell ever since he did that. He's killed innocent creatures of these lands, he's tortured and killed good beings who tried to kill him, and he's treated all of us like shit!" Now he started to cry much more. "He's damaged the sacred lands of my kind and killed off any who tests his power. He has done so much evil to this world. Soon chaos will reign on Earth and all good that stand in his path will die. Your friends are powerless to stop him. Even with their combined force, they cannot beat Tichondrius. He is much more than just a vampire. He is a master spell caster, a stealthy killer, and much more dangerous than a regular vampire. He is far too dangerous and powerful for your friends to deal with, even if they have a powerful army. But I will not allow him to hurt your friends and family. I will not allow him to put you through the same hell I went through. You are my only other best friend besides Drake and I will not allow him to put you through the same hell I went through."

He suddenly hugged Melissa's scaly neck and wept. Surprised, she wasn't sure what to do. She then hugged him back with her left wing. She rested her large head on his shoulder and gently said, "I'm terribly sorry for your loss Reptile. And I appreciate what you're doing. But you don't need to do that. My friends will be safe as long as they don't interfere with Tichondrius' plan. They can defeat Tichondrius. And it doesn't matter if anything happens to me. As long as he doesn't hurt or kill my friends, then he could do whatever the hell he wants to do to me. Do not worry Reptile. We will get our revenge very soon. Patience is everything now. Only the gods can decide our fate and future."

This seemed to calm Reptile down because he slowly began to stop crying. Melissa would say soothing words to quiet him down further. They both sat there for several more minutes before Reptile was finally calm enough to continue on their quest for Black Tyranno. He put his armor back on and placed his sheath on his belt. He climbed onto Melissa's back again and she quickly took off, leaving the oasis behind. They thought they'd have a better chance to at least try to find this alleged town before they head back to the oasis, which was the only way they could survive in this desert.

They had been flying for well over an hour and already Reptile and Melissa felt like they wanted to collapse. They had searched miles of the wasteland and there was no evidence of a town. They only discovered more bones and broken old structures, signs that the Bloody Wastelands used to be a thriving place, filled with different creatures and huge cities. But wars between the different creatures had destroyed all life and turned it into a desert. Many broken weapons and skeletons were left behind.

Both Reptile and Melissa weren't sure how much more they could endure the heat. They quickly felt like collapsing and felt dehydrated. And they hadn't discovered any town. "Melissa, maybe we should go back," Reptile suggested.

"No, it'll just slow us down. We have to continue for as long as we can. We've only been searching for three hours," argued Melissa. "It'll take much longer to find anything, even Black Tyranno."

Reptile snorted and kept quiet. So they continued for another hour or so before they got their first break. Melissa spotted a small house made of stone. Its roof was red and was made like any other roof instead it used different material. The house had no doors and it had a pen behind it full of boars. They didn't see anyone outside or around the house. Melissa landed several feet away from the house. Reptile got off and slowly walked to it. Melissa followed him. While they were walking toward it, a tiny human being emerged from the house. It was a few inches below Reptile's knee. Reptile was shocked by how short it was. Never had he seen anything this short. Melissa seemed to be interested in it.

The tiny human called to a small tan ram. The ram had a long shaggy coat and tan segmented horns. The puny being climbed onto the ram's back and gently grabbed some of the ram's fur. The animal then began to walk around, which seemed to please the puny thing. "What the hell is that?" Reptile asked softly, so softly that Melissa thought he didn't mean to say it out loud.

"Do not mistake that for a dwarf. Not even a young dwarf is that tiny…well at least I don't think so. That is a gnome," muttered Melissa.

"A gnome?"

"Yeah, a gnome. Gnomes are, as you can see, puny humans with high intelligence and a love for engineering. They can build some of the best technologies that have ever existed. But don't think that just because they're puny, they're weak. They can also be considerably dangerous. But they're gentle beings."

"So maybe we can talk to them and maybe they can help us."

"Let's try it. Be ready though. Most gnomes are mages and they know powerful spells. So approach them cautiously."

Reptile nodded. He slowly walked to the house. Melissa followed behind him, carefully watching the house's entrance. The young gnome saw Reptile and stood in front of him, apparently not afraid of him. He looked at Reptile with an angry stare and the ram snorted. Reptile was confused with how a young boy could even see him as danger but then he remembered Melissa's briefing. All gnomes had high intelligence. The ram advanced closer to Reptile, snorting again to warn him to go away. Then Melissa walked to the side of Reptile. She stared with narrow eyes, pretending to be angry to scare the ram. Smoke emitted from her nostrils. Her chest vibrated as she growled deeply. The ram and the gnome were clearly frightened and the gnome jumped off the ram and ran inside. The ram went inside with him. "Shit!" Melissa cursed. "Only God knows if the parents could be mages."

"We should get out of here," Reptile advised, clearly worried about the situation.

But it was already too late. An adult gnome, a few feet above Reptile's knee, came into view as she exited the house. She had reddish colored hair, blue eyes, and a long light yellow dress. She seemed ready to attack but before she could, Reptile yelled, "No, please, we mean you no harm. We are just lost. We do not wish to hurt you."

He somehow convinced the female gnome with his gentle voice. She said, "Oh I'm sorry. I thought you were gonna hurt us. Who exactly are you and what are you doing here?"

Reptile knew he couldn't tell the female that they were part of Tichondrius' army and were looking to make Black Tyranno their ally. "I am Reptile and this is my dragon friend, Melissa. We did not mean to intrude like this but we are looking for a town called the Crossroads that's supposed to be here. Can you help us?"

The female stared at both of them with suspicion. In some way, she knew they were good. "Why yes. You just have to go west," explained the gnome, pointing west of her home, "until you reach a black road. Then follow the road north and you'll reach the Crossroads."

Reptile and Melissa looked at each other. It was gonna be difficult to differentiate north, south, east, and west. They were gonna have a difficult time finding their way there. The gnome seemed to know exactly what their problem was. "You don't have a compass right?"

Confused, Reptile looked at the gnome and slowly said, "No we don't have one."

"Yeah I figured that." Reptile and Melissa were confused with the gnome being able to tell that they didn't have a compass. "I think I have one. But today why don't you stay here with us?"

Reptile was now surprised. He didn't think the gnome would trust them enough to let them inside her house, or stay for the day. "Thank you Ms…."

"My name's Jenna. And this is my son, Joey," Jenna introduced.

"Ms. Jenna we appreciate what you're doing but we should just leave you and your son alone. I'm sure you have things to do and we don't want to intrude."

"Oh, nonsense! We don't mind having you as our guests. You poor things look so tired and you must be thirsty and starving. I don't mind having you here."

Reptile smiled. "Thank you very much Jenna." Melissa seemed to be happy as well. Jenna nodded and signaled for them to follow her. Joey followed her but stayed away from Reptile and Melissa. Reptile had to hunker down to fit in the house. Although the two were tiny, their house was still big enough for a human to at least bend over. Melissa just lowered her head. Reptile sat down on a small rug. Melissa lied down next to him. Joey sat down on a chair a few feet away from them. He was still frightened by Melissa's and Reptile's appearance. Jenna gave Reptile a cup of water and Melissa a large bowl of water. She took her time to drink it all up. Reptile hastily, but not rudely, drank the water, finally feeling refreshed. "My, my, you two must've been out in the cruel heat for a long time. Let me get you some more," said Jenna.

Reptile gave her the cup and she went to refill it. While she was, Reptile decided to ask her a question. "Ms. Jenna, do you know if the legends are true about a monster called Black Tyranno?"

Melissa's head immediately lifted up. She didn't think it was the right time to ask about Black Tyranno, especially since he was an evil monster. Jenna was obviously shocked by Reptile's question and neither of them knew why. "Why do you ask?" she wondered.

"Well…I've heard much about him but I don't know if what people say is true," Reptile lied.

Jenna sighed loudly. "Yes, everything about that monster is true. He's a vile creature who must be eradicated from this place. But many have failed. He constantly bothers or kills the inhabitants of this place, including the Crossroads. He just causes more havoc in this place."

"Sounds interesting," Reptile said.

"Yes well, he isn't all that great. He's one of the worst monsters anyone could ever fight or meet. He was responsible for killing hundreds, including my husband, Leo. He fought bravely just to make sure we get out alive. We encountered that loathsome beast while traveling to Crossroads to sell some goods. Leo somehow kept him away for us, giving us enough time to escape with our lives. But he wasn't so lucky. I want that beast dead for what he did. He deserves to die like any other evil creature."

Reptile and Melissa were surprised by the sudden venom in Jenna's voice. But it was understandable because Leo was killed by Black Tyranno when he didn't do anything except save his family. Almost instantly Jenna changed her mood as if Reptile never asked the question. "So are you two hungry?"

Both of her guests nodded in reply. She got their food ready quickly. She gave Reptile a piece of meat and a loaf of bread while Melissa got to devour a bloody chunk of boar. As they all ate, they began to talk to one another about themselves. They talked about interests, part of their life, and many other things, although Melissa and Reptile kept their "alliance" with Tichondrius a secret and also of their real mission. Soon after they ate, Jenna showed the two where they would sleep for the night and she and her son went to bed themselves. Reptile laid his head on Melissa's scaly side and enveloped himself with a warm wool blanket Jenna had given him. Melissa comfortably lied her head down next to him, her wings curled to her sides. They both rapidly fell asleep, tired from all the traveling they did.

The sun was barely rising when Reptile awoke. He felt very refreshed this morning. He got up and stretched his stiff muscles. He heard Melissa stir behind him. He slowly walked outside and took a deep breath of fresh air. The sky was beautifully painted with streaks of orange, blue, purple, and pink. He took in another deep breath and went back inside. Melissa was already awake but continued to lie down. "Good morning Melissa," Reptile greeted politely.

"Mornin' Reptile," greeted Melissa.

"How did you sleep?"

"Pretty good. You?"

"Likewise."

Reptile sat by Melissa again and was silent for a while. Then he asked, "Do you really think we're going to find Black Tyranno?"

Melissa sighed. "I really don't know."

"Maybe Jenna can show us where this place called the Crossroads is."

"Even if we could find this place it would be far too dangerous to see if what is said about Black Tyranno's lair is true. We could die just from the heat if we do not make sure."

"What can we do then?"

"The best thing we could do is ask others around here if maybe they know. If not, we're screwed."

"You know a lot of monsters. Don't you know where he lives?"

"No Reptile. I may know a lot of monsters but I don't know where each and every one of them lives. If I did, don't you think I would've taken us there by now instead of staying here?"

"I'm sorry for asking. I just wish to get this over with and get out of this godforsaken desert."

"As do I."

Their conversation was interrupted by Jenna who had apparently just woken up. "Good morning you two. Hope you had a good sleep."

"Yes Jenna, we slept well. But I must ask. Why have you awaken up so early?"

"I have work to do. I must keep this place clean and make sure that Joey gets what he needs, which is why I need to get ready to soon go to the Crossroads to sell things."

"I see. Can you tell us how to get to the Crossroads? We need to get going soon," Reptile inquired.

"Ah yes, I will." Jenna walked to a drawer and took out a compass. She handed it to Reptile. "You may keep this. I don't need it anymore."

Reptile took the compass and looked at it. The compass seemed ancient. The dial was completely covered in rust. But surprisingly it still worked. Reptile thanked Jenna. She soon got them some food, which they ate in silence. When Reptile and Melissa were ready to leave, Jenna gave them a bag full of water and food to help them survive the desert. She gave them directions to the Crossroads again and, before they knew it, Reptile and Melissa were once again on their way to find Black Tyranno.

"Are we there yet?" Melissa asked.

"I don't know. We need to continue going north until we reach this place," Reptile answered.

Melissa continued flying until finally she saw a glimpse of a building. "Hey I think we finally made it."

"Perhaps we have. Let's land and walk there."

Melissa dived to the ground and together, they walked to the Crossroads. The Crossroads was a small town, filled with beings of many shapes and sizes. Many eyed Melissa with astonishment and fear. _Damn, it seems they've never seen a dragon before,_ she thought.

Melissa stayed behind Reptile as he kept asking humans, elves, orcs, trolls, and many others for the leader of the village. Finally he got an answer from a human. She said the leader of the town was named Gal'tuk. Reptile followed her instructions and found Gal'tuk in a big building which was supposed to be the inn. Gal'tuk was actually an elf, with light skin, long yellow hair, long pointy ears, and black eyes. He wore a red long-sleeved shirt with black pants and black shoes.

He turned around when he heard them enter. "Why hello there. And who may you two be?"

"I am Reptile and this is Melissa," Reptile introduced. "And we are here to find more information of something important."

"Well, I don't have much time. So this meeting must be quick."

"We shall be quick but this is a very important matter. We need to talk in private."

"As you wish." He clapped twice and yelled, "All of you be gone!"

Everyone in the room left without hesitation. Gal'tuk sat down in a chair in a nearby table. Reptile sat down across from him. "Now what was is it that we need to discuss?"

"We need to know if you have any information on a monster called Black Tyranno," Reptile replied. "We need to know his whereabouts."

Gal'tuk's eyes went wide. "Why do you speak of that monster? Why must you know of this beast?"

"Because we may be able to help. We must know where this creature is. We need to know any information."

Gal'tuk just stared at the table. Melissa wasn't sure if he was thinking or just in disbelief. Then after a few seconds of silence, Gal'tuk said, "Never as anyone even dared to go against that monster since I was born. No one dares to challenge him." Then he looked at Reptile. "How do I know that you're not going to create an alliance with that monster?"

Reptile didn't know what to say. That was exactly what they had come to do. Now he needed to somehow convince the elf that he was not going to create an alliance. But he couldn't think of anything.

"We are here to kill this creature. As proof of our deed, we will bring you his head if we survive," Melissa said.

Gal'tuk turned his head and looked at her. "I see you've never heard a dragon speak," guessed Melissa. "Let alone seen one."

Gal'tuk didn't say anything. "It's the only way to prove that we aren't going to create an alliance," Reptile continued, ignoring what Melissa had said.

Gal'tuk looked at him and looked into his eyes. Reptile didn't feel very comfortable with Gal'tuk looking at him weird. Melissa was just dumbstruck. Finally Gal'tuk muttered, "I don't believe you."

Reptile's heart was filled with dread. If he discovered the real reason that they wanted to know, they might be killed by any guards or soldiers, if the Crossroads even had any.

Melissa just became irritated. "Why don't you believe us?"

"I can tell when someone is lying and when they're telling the truth. I know you're not here to kill him. You're here to create an alliance with that monster. But I will not allow that!"

Out of nowhere the elf took out a dagger and stabbed Reptile's arm. Reptile roared in pain. The dagger's tip was stuck in the wooden table, making it a bit difficult for Reptile to remove the dagger without hurting himself further. Melissa growled with anger and tried to slash Gal'tuk with the claw on her wing. But he moved so fast and gracefully. He quickly moved out of the way and stabbed Melissa on the back of her neck. She roared loudly. Reptile was finally free and grabbed the elf by the neck. He tightly held the elf. But the elf placed his feet on his chest and kicked Reptile under the chin, knocking him down. The elf then ran to the door but before he could reach it, Melissa yelled, "Estra recr udel!" Although she had been stabbed on the back of her neck, it wasn't serious enough to damage her severely. She could still talk and the wound wasn't life-threatening.

Gal'tuk could no longer move. It felt as if his feet were stuck to the ground. He thrashed about, trying to get away from Reptile and Melissa. But to no avail. Reptile again grabbed him by the neck, slammed him against the wall, and tightened his grip, making it harder for Gal'tuk to breath. Reptile stared at Gal'tuk furiously. He wasn't about to leave without some answers. "I know you know where he is. Now tell me," he growled.

"No!" breathed Gal'tuk.

Reptile growled in frustration and tightened his grip even more. "Listen you damn bastard! You better tell me where this thing is or else!"

"Or else what?"

"Or else I'll make sure my dragon companion here causes you as much pain as it takes to make you talk. And believe me, it'll be the worst you've ever experienced."

Smoke emerged from her nostrils as Melissa snorted. If it did get to that point, then so be it. Gal'tuk stared at both of them with fear in his eyes. Then finally he surrendered. "Ok, ok! I'll talk. Just please don't kill me."

Reptile smiled in triumph. He loosened his grip on Gal'tuk's neck. He fell hard on his bottom. Reptile helped him up and ordered, "Now start talking."

Gal'tuk began hastily. He talked of how to get Black Tyranno out of his cave and where his cave could be found. It seemed that the legend was true, making it much easier for Melissa and Reptile to look for him within a few days rather than take months to find him. The two got prepared to leave once he was done. Before they left Reptile threatened Gal'tuk, saying that if he spoke about this meeting to anyone, he would wish he were never born. Gal'tuk was frightened by Reptile's threat. As soon as they left, Gal'tuk's servants rushed in to see what had happened.

Reptile and Melissa quickly left the Crossroads. They journeyed to Black Tyranno's cave.

"There it is!" Reptile yelled, pointing at something. Melissa looked to where he was pointing and saw the cave with bones at the entrance. A huge tree with many branches but few leaves sort of obscured the cave. She landed on the ground near the tree and Reptile finally took the carcass of the venom spitter off her back. He tossed it on his shoulder. "So what are we supposed to do?"

"We have to place the venom spitter right here and wait." Melissa searched for a hiding place where they could stay until Black Tyranno came out. "We can hide there." She pointed at a small grotto made entirely of rocks stacked on top of each other and against each other. "That'll be a good place to stay because now we can hide and have shade," said Melissa.

So Reptile placed the dead animal near the tree and both of them ran to the grotto, where it was dark and cool inside. They sat down and waited for Black Tyranno to arrive.

By the time he arrived, the sun was beginning to set. "Hey Melissa wake up," Reptile said, shaking Melissa from her sleep.

She lazily got up and yawned loudly. "What happened?" she said tiredly.

"Black Tyranno has arrived."

"What? Where?"

Reptile pointed outside and Melissa could see the giant beast savagely eating the venom spitter. She was amazed by the great beast. She had heard legends of Black Tyranno but never saw him before until now. The great beast had a hulking black, muscular body, with yellow teeth and claws. He had glowing yellow eyes and yellow spikes on his shoulders. He would've been a fantastic ally if he wasn't evil. But now she and Reptile had to convince him to join Tichondrius, which she knew would not be easy.

"Come," Melissa commanded. Reptile followed behind her, apprehensive about this. Melissa took the lead, still in her dragoon form. She cautiously approached Black Tyranno. He was known to kill any who dare came near his territory and both of them were already walking in his territory.

Black Tyranno sniffed the air until his big yellow eyes fell upon Reptile and Melissa. A deep growl came from his throat. Melissa stared at him, not making a move. Reptile's heart raced but nonetheless he stayed with her. Then Black Tyranno spoke. "Who dare step foot in my territory?!"

"I, Melissa, have walked into your territory. I have come to discuss some…matters with you," Melissa replied.

"What matters do you speak of? And who is that?" Black Tyranno pointed at Reptile with his small claws.

"I, Reptile, wish to do the same," Reptile replied.

"The matters I wish to speak to you about deal with a much greater being that wishes to enlist you in his army."

"Who is this being you speak of?"

"His name is Tichondrius."

"That bastard dare ask me to join him?!!"

Melissa was perplexed by Tyranno's sudden action. Was it possible that Tichondrius had previously done something dreadful to Black Tyranno? She could feel his hatred towards Tichondrius. "Why is it you show such a strong hatred for Tichondrius?" Melissa said.

"He betrayed me before when we used to be allies. He said to me that I was useless to him, that I wasn't good enough."

Reptile and Melissa gasped with surprise. Tichondrius was sealed in an ancient stone for countless years. But Black Tyranno still lived after so long. Melissa guessed he was probably a thousand years old or more. "Well…maybe now you can show him that you are just as great as him," Melissa uttered.

"That bastard would just do the same thing. He almost killed me all those years ago. And I'm not about to fall for this trick again. So you can tell him to forget it."

Reptile and Melissa were wordless. They didn't want to return to Tichondrius and say that Black Tyranno didn't want to join. They thought that he would think that they just didn't try hard enough and punish them. "Please, join him. Things might be different this time. He might not betray you again like he did before," Reptile pleaded.

"No! He will just do the same as he does to everyone. Even if my power could equal his, he would still try and kill me," Black Tyranno argued.

"He's different now. He isn't as evil as he once was," Melissa lied, trying to do whatever it took to convince him so they could both avoid any punishment.

Black Tyranno growled with anger and roared, "I refuse to join him even if he has truly changed. And as a message to your damn master, I'll kill the both of you and make sure he understands!"

Unexpectedly, Black Tyranno opened his big jaws and closed it on Reptile's upper body. His teeth broke through the armor and punctured his flesh. Reptile screamed in pain. Black Tyranno would've easily sliced Reptile into two if Melissa hadn't fired a huge fireball at Tyranno's side. He roared in pain and threw Reptile several feet away from him. Reptile hit the ground and continued rolling until a big rock stopped him.

Then Black Tyranno concentrated on Melissa. He whipped her with his tail, sending here several feet into the air. She hit the ground hard. Tyranno walked towards her slowly. But before he could get any closer, Reptile spat a ball of acid at him. The acid hit Tyranno's left side, burning the skin and flesh. The acrid smell of burning flesh filled the air. The acid just got Tyranno even angrier. This time he roared loudly, literally sending waves of sound towards Reptile. The roar did no damage to Reptile, but rather affected his hearing and his vision. Reptile shook his head to get his hearing and vision back to normal but no such thing happened. His vision was blurred and he couldn't hear anything. Tyranno saw his chance. He muttered something in a different language. Suddenly out of nowhere, the ground shook violently and began to crack right under Tyranno. The ground began to crack under Reptile as well, although he didn't realize it until he fell in the big crevice that had formed. He grabbed the edge of the crevice with both hands, trying to hang on. His waist was bleeding freely, sucking the energy from him. Black Tyranno crouched down low enough for him to reach Reptile with his arms, which were as long as a human's arm. He dug his claws into Reptile's hands. Reptile shrieked in pain as Tyranno dug his claws even deeper into his flesh. Then he lowered his big head and stared at Reptile with his big eyes. He said, "I'll make sure that you and your friend die for your stupidity. No one betrays me and gets away with it!"

Melissa was right next to the crevice and saw Black Tyranno push Reptile off the ledge. "Reptile!!" she yelled in horror as she saw him fall into the growing darkness in the crevice. She quickly got up and launched herself from the edge of the cliff. She did not spread her wings as one might expect. Instead she fell like a dart with her wings folded close to her sides. She began to fall faster and faster to Reptile. He screamed loudly from fear and only hoped that Melissa would reach him in time.

Soon Melissa was right next to him. She grabbed him with the hooked claw on her wing, careful not to scratch him. Reptile gently grabbed her frills and pushed himself to her. He wrapped his arms around her neck and held on tight. When he was on her back, Melissa finally spread her wings and made a sharp turn. Then almost immediately flew straight up. Reptile held on as tightly as he could. Wind blew hard against them as Melissa ascended higher and faster. Then Melissa slowed down when she passed Tyranno.

Black Tyranno seemed to be annoyed by the two. He took in a deep breath and spat a big ball of fire. Surprised by the fire attack, Melissa had barely any time to react. The fireball missed her by mere inches. She fired an even greater fireball at Tyranno in retaliation. The fireball blasted him off his feet. Melissa placed Reptile on a rock nearby. Then she left him to continue her fight with Tyranno. Reptile could only watch as Melissa and Tyranno fought with whatever strength was left. His waist and hands were still bleeding but not as badly as before. He pulled out his sword, which was still somehow sheathed. He held it in front of him for a few seconds. Azer'rak had helped him defeat many great creatures but never before had it defeated a legendary monster. Azer'rak had never failed him and it wouldn't fail him now.

Melissa was getting weaker and weaker from the numerous wounds that were inflicted upon her by Tyranno. And if she didn't do anything fast, she might die.

Forgetting all about his wounds, Reptile got up slowly, Azer'rak in hand. And slowly, with renewed confidence, walks to Tyranno to confront him for the last time.

Tyranno swung his mighty tail, striking Melissa with a lot of force. She smacks into the ground hard. Then he closed his jaws on her abdomen. Melissa roared in pain, wounds now bleeding profusely on her abdomen. Black Tyranno threw her with a simple swing of his head. Melissa slammed into the big tree, hard enough to actually knock it down! She laid there, wounds bleeding and possibly infected by the dirt and splinters in it. Black Tyranno's teeth had penetrated her hard scales and cut into her major internal organs and if she didn't do something fast, she would die for sure. She was about to activate the healing spell since she had no shield as a dragoon when Black Tyranno placed his foot on her chest, making it harder to breathe or talk. She could feel her ribs beginning to break under his immense weight. Black Tyranno only smiled as he watched her suffer from his crushing force. He could hear the crack of bones and heard her scream in agony. All he did was laugh at her. "You were foolish enough to challenge me and even ask me to join that fool's army and now you will pay!"

Melissa looked at Tyranno with horror. She knew this would be the end. She was going to be crushed to death and she couldn't do anything about it. She didn't have the energy to transform and she couldn't speak. She couldn't fire comets of blue energy because Tyranno was crushing her lungs. She was pretty much helpless. She looked at Tyranno as he laughed at her, pleased by her suffering, watching her with his big eyes, and—

—and his big black head suddenly fell off, landing right above her head, blood squirting from where his head used to be. His lifeless body fell to the side. With the crushing weight finally off her, Melissa took in a breath of air and quickly healed herself. She didn't understand how his head just fell off. She didn't do anything and she left Reptile on a rock. Or so she thought.

Reptile stood to her right, holding Azer'rak with black blood dripping from the great blade. Melissa smiled at him with joy. She got up and walked to him. Reptile's wounds were still bleeding and if it still hurt, Reptile wasn't showing it. He smiled at Melissa and finally collapsed on his knees. He was tired and hurt, but was glad that they had won. He knew they'd pay the price for killing Tyranno, but at least they were alive. Melissa came up to him and activated the healing spell, finally healing his wounds. Then both of them hugged each other, happy to be alive. "Thank you Reptile. If it wasn't for you, I'd probably be dead," Melissa said.

"That's what friends do. You look out for each other," Reptile muttered.

"You're a good friend Reptile." Melissa gently pushed him off and added, "Now let's keep our promise and go back."

Reptile didn't understand at first but when Melissa pointed at the head, he remembered the promise they made. Together they took the head and headed back to Crossroads, ready for a huge entrance.

The moon was high in the dark sky. The people of Crossroads were trading, buying, talking, and beginning to get some rest when they saw a big dragon and a humanoid reptile holding something big and black. Once they all realized what it was, cheers erupted from the crowd.

Melissa landed on the ground, helping Reptile hold Black Tyranno's head high above his head. People cheered loudly when they saw the head. The scaly couple walked to the entrance of the inn, where Gal'tuk stood, awestruck. Reptile dropped the head in front of him and said, "We told you that we would kill him. We're not evil as you thought before."

Gal'tuk was still wordless and amazed but bowed in front of them. Then he finally said, "I apologize for what occurred earlier. It was my fault for not believing you in the first place. Please forgive me for my trouble. We all thank you for your deed and we'll always remember you for your great bravery and strength."

"We forgive you Gal'tuk. We do not blame you for what occurred earlier," said Melissa.

"Thank you. Melissa, Reptile, we are grateful for what you have done. You will always be remembered for your great deed. Three cheers for the great warriors of Crossroads!" Gal'tuck yelled.

The crowd cheered loudly once again. Melissa and Reptile smiled with much pride. Then Reptile said, "I'm afraid we must leave. We have to return to where we belong."

"Good-bye, great warriors. You may return whenever you wish," Gal'tuk said.

"We shall, Gal'tuk. We shall," Melissa added.

With a flap of her wings, she took off once again with Reptile on her back. They waved back at the crowd, saying their final good-byes. On their way back, they saw Joey and Jenna on their way to Crossroads. They waved good-bye to the gnome family and they waved back. They continued their way back to Tichondrius' fortress, ready to endure the punishment for the death of Black Tyranno.

Melissa and Reptile arrived a day later to Tichondrius' fortress. They entered cautiously, fearing Tichondrius' attitude for killing Black Tyranno. They entered the Meeting Room, where Tichondrius was standing there like he always was. He didn't turn around and face them. But before Melissa or Reptile could speak, Tichondrius said, "Do not even try to explain or lie to me about Black Tyranno's death. I know you killed him."

Melissa and Reptile gulped loudly, afraid about what he would do to them. But instead of scolding them and telling his guards to torture them for their punishment, he simply said, "I figured that he wouldn't join my army and that he would try and kill you for even asking him. I am pleased with the fact that you killed him. You are allowed to take the rest of the day off. I expect you two to arrive in this room tomorrow morning. I'll have your next mission ready." Then Tichondrius turned to his right and exited the room.

Reptile and Melissa stood there, surprised by his answer and that they now had the rest of the day to themselves. They quickly left the room and cheered outside, happy that they wouldn't get punished. And they, yet again, had the day to themselves. "So since we have this day off, what should we do?" Reptile inquired.

Melissa thought for a few seconds before answering, "I know what we can do. For now, let's get some good rest. Then we can meet each other at the entrance at night."

Reptile didn't know what she was thinking but agreed to do as she said. They exchanged smiles and went to their cells. They would wait until nighttime to do whatever Melissa had planned.


	15. The New Base

Chapter XIV: The New Base

Gloria stood on the tip of a cliff overlooking the base. Their brand new base was finally complete. It was made entirely of reinforced steel that Johnny and Caitlin had created by combining iron with coal. They were stocked with weapons, medical supplies created by herbs and other natural things, and food and water. It was big enough to house even a colossal dragon. Gloria thought that it'd definitely be enough to keep their entire army safe and well.

The tricky part of creating the base was building it _underground_. Only one floor was above the ground. The rest of the gigantic base was kept underground to keep it a bit safer from nature. The reinforced steel made it more difficult for anyone to attack and destroy the base. The extra security also made sure that that wouldn't happen. The base had turned out exactly the way Gloria wanted it. In fact, it turned out to be much better than she expected. And with the extra help from her allies, they finished today, in only four days, which was far faster than she expected. She had estimated that it would take nearly a month or more to build a base that big. But with their relentless hard work, they finished much quicker. Her allies were exhausted from the hard work so she decided to give them a week. She believed that they deserved the long rest.

In the meantime, however, she sent her scouts, who were Drake, Metruzahk, Seerahk, and Dark Magician Girl. They would scout the lands, searching for the next monster to be their ally. They had come up empty in the last four days, but didn't give up. Even now they were looking for a new monster to conquer. Gloria had a new plan for taking care of new allies. This time she would assign everyone to groups of two or three. If she decided groups of three, one would have to stay behind to watch the place. She would also split the Guardians, Vahki, and magicians in groups to join the others if necessary. She believed that in doing so this way, they might be able to create an army much faster. Their army was growing at a slow rate and they needed to pick up the pace. The faster they created an army, the sooner they could save Melissa and kill Tichondrius. For now they would have to concentrate on what must be done now.

Metruzahk, Drake, Dark Magician Girl, and Seerahk once again returned with nothing later on that day. She allowed them to rest for the rest of the day. Nighttime was approaching and she didn't like to have anyone out by night. So they went back into the base and Gloria went to her "bedroom." Drake and the others went to their resting places. Gloria entered her "bedroom" to find James already sleeping on a bed made of wool. Somehow Jessica and Leon were able to get wool from skinning some kind of animal. They cleaned it and made the beds, blankets, and pillows out of it. They thought it would keep everyone warm. Gloria, already tired from getting little sleep in the last few days, crawled into bed beside James and almost instantly fell asleep.

Noon had turned to night faster than Melissa anticipated. But it made it all the better. She left her cell—evidently she was free to do as she pleased for the meantime—and headed to Reptile's. He just exited his cell when Melissa showed up. "Are you ready to go?" she asked.

"Go where?" Reptile wondered.

"Outside."

"I'm ready when you are."

Melissa led the way outside to the place where she preferred to rest. The full moon illuminated the entire area. Glimmering stars appeared in the dark blue sky. "Reptile, have you ever watched the stars?" Melissa asked.

"No. I've never had the time to do it. Is that what you wanted to do?"

"Aye it is."

Melissa lied down on the ground. Reptile lied down right next to her and looked up into the sky. He placed his hands behind his head. "What exactly do you do when you look at the stars?"

"I just look for shapes in the sky and it's just relaxing. To me at least," Melissa replied.

"Well I've never done it before. I still don't get why you like it but I'll have to see for myself."

"Believe me Reptile, you'll enjoy it."

Reptile continued looking up into the sky, wondering what Melissa could find so interesting about the stars.

Lavflame was standing on a nearby hill when he caught a strange scent in the air. He sniffed the air, trying to identify the scent but was unsuccessful. He knew it meant trouble. He was going to warn the others that danger was approaching when he heard "AROOOOOO!!" The howl of a wolf.

He knew what it was before it even came into view. But it wasn't any ordinary wolf. This one was humanoid with shaggy black fur, yellow curved claws, yellow eyes, and sharp teeth. It had a short bushy tail as well as large muscles on its chest, arms, and legs. It howled again and even more of the wolf humanoids appeared. They didn't attack, just stayed where they were.

Lavflame growled at them and yelled, "Enemies are approaching!"

The other Guardians and the magicians immediately headed to where Lavflame was. His cry for help was loud enough to wake some of their allies. Zerahk and the rest of the Vahki showed up. Even Gloria, James, Duke, and Orlando were awakened by his cry. But before the Vahki, Guardians, and magicians could attack, the leading black wolf said, "Do not attack us, my brethren. My kin and I come in peace."

"Brethren?" James wondered.

"Is he even an ally of ours?" Orlando asked.

"No, he's not," Gloria responded. "But he might want to be. Why else would he call us brethren?"

"Does he even know of our cause?" Duke asked.

"I don't know," responded Gloria. "Let's find out." She took several steps forward and yelled, "Who are you?"

"I am Sifyre Steeljaw and I am the leader of the Black Wolf clan. I am here to join in your campaign against Tichondrius," the wolf humanoid replied.

"How do you know about Tichondrius? And that we are fighting him?" asked Gloria.

"A few days ago, two vampires by the name of Sylan and Velora asked us to join Tichondrius. When we refused, they attacked us. But we overwhelmed them and they flew away. I decided that it was our mission to find anyone going against Tichondrius and join their force. I've been searching since. Then I sensed you and believed that maybe we'd be able to join you."

"You sensed me?"

"Indeed. Werewolves and vampires have been allies for thousands of years. We've developed the ability to sense any nearby vampires within 100 yards. But we can only sense good vampires. Not evil. That is how I was led to you."

"Interesting," commented Gloria. "Well you have found the right group to be with. Tichondrius has taken one of our allies and we're fighting to get her back as well as kill him. And we need all the allies we can get."

"Then it will be our duty to serve you, vampire. What is your name?"

"I am Gloria and these are the allies I have so far."

"You have many allies Gloria. I'm hoping that our assistance will be of some use."

"Indeed it will."

Sifyre jumped down to the bottom in front of Gloria. The other werewolves followed him. Gloria showed him to the base so they could rest for the night. The Guardians, Vahki, and magicians went back to what they were doing. James, Orlando, and Duke went back to sleep. Gloria stayed up a while, learning more of Sifyre and his clan of black werewolves.

Reptile and Melissa were still on the ground, looking up at the stars. They looked for shapes in the sky and talked. They both found it relaxing after three long, hard days of work. Tichondrius had not sent for them or anything but they knew that soon, their free time would be over. Until it was, they would enjoy every second of it.

"I didn't think that this would actually be relaxing. You do have strange ways to rest," Reptile observed.

"But they do work," Melissa added. "Duke and I used to do this all the time."

Reptile believed that now would be the time to learn more about her friends. He was interested to learn more about them. "Melissa, can you tell me about your friends? Why they are so important to you?"

"Well they _are_ my friends," Melissa said.

"Yeah I know but I mean you seem to share a powerful bond with them. Like nothing I've seen before. What I want to know is how they are different from others."

"Ah, I see what you're asking. Well it'll take a long while to explain why each and every one of them is very important to me. Long story short, all of them are different from other people. They're the coolest people anyone can have as friends."

"I see. Well at least tell me of these two human friends of yours, Gloria and Duke."

"Human? Hah! They aren't human. Our human forms are only a disguise. Indeed they used to be but Duke acquired the power of the dragon from me. As for how Gloria got the power of the vampire, she discovered her powers young as most of us. We do not know how exactly we obtained the powers we have, but we haven't exactly been human for the last several years."

"Interesting."

"Now I'll explain why these two are so important to me. Gloria is a fantastic friend. She's a good, strong leader as well as very wise, hilarious, intelligent, brave, and compassionate. She's unlike anyone I've ever met in my life. She and I share a stronger bond than any of my friends. She can be a bit—what's the word?—aggressive when angry but it's something we get used to. She is protective at times and will fight for us if we are bullied around by anyone. But of course, she encourages us to stand for ourselves, which we've learned to do over the last several years. She's a great person—or, should I say, vampire—that anyone can have as a friend.

"Duke, on the other hand, is….aw man, he's an incredible man. He's a handsome, young man—dragon—with a great personality. He's funny, brave, intelligent, compassionate, wise, and creative. He can be very hostile when he's angered, sometimes violent, but not violent like me. He's extremely protective, especially of me, and will stand up for his friends if he has to. He's someone you can talk to about anything and like Gloria, does whatever he can to help. He's important to me like Gloria. I love him more than life itself. If I were to lose him, or Gloria, I don't think I'd be able to live."

"It sounds like they're more important to you than all your other friends."

"Well, all my friends are important to me but I have a stronger bond with them than anyone else. It's a hard thing to explain for you to understand the bond we have."

"They seem like good….creatures. If we do make it out alive, then I want to be able to meet them."

"Indeed you will. You'll meet all of my friends."

Silence settled in. Then Reptile asked, "Melissa, why is it that when you do have a break, you don't use that time to escape?"

"I knew you'd ask that sooner or later. The reason I don't use that time to escape is because even if I do escape, he can infect all my friends with that virus and he can kill them all. Then he would mostly likely kill me if he were to recapture me. So it's either have my friends die by trying to escape or just stay with him until I find a better way and a better time to make my escape. If he didn't have that virus to threaten them, then I would've tried to escape long ago. Now enough for tonight. We should head back now. Tichondrius might be expecting us back very soon. Besides it's cold and I'm tired."

"Yeah. I had a relaxing time for the first time since I first came here. So thanks."

"You're quite welcome. You need some relaxation time so I figured this would help you."

"Next time we get some time, I want to do it again."

"We will Reptile. Now come. We should get going."

Reptile and Melissa both got up and went back inside. They both separated and went to their cells. Almost immediately, Melissa went in and went to sleep, wrapping herself with the blanket that Reptile had given her.

Reptile, on the other hand, did not go to sleep at once. Instead, he continued to look at the stars from the barred cell window. Something had changed in his friendship with Melissa. He felt more than her friendship. He felt affection for her. Ever since the only love of his life died on that terrible day, he had not thought about looking for someone else. But then he met Melissa. After he had helped her with the Rahkshi, his feelings for her began to grow. When they both fought Black Tyranno, his feelings became stronger. And after tonight, his feeling grew even stronger than he thought. He didn't think that he would actually fall in love with Melissa, but he never thought he would help slay a great beast either. He didn't think that he, a simple reptilian humanoid, would fall in love with Melissa, a massive, powerful silver dragon, which is why he was keeping it to himself. He didn't want her to know. Also, she already had someone who loved her.

He cleared his mind of all thoughts and sat down on his bed, which was chained to the wall like a bench. He stopped musing to himself and went to sleep.


	16. Jessica's Premonition

Chapter XV: Jessica's Premonition

_Jessica was outside in a massive area that was devoid of life. Fire ravaged the plant life around her. The sky was dark with smoke and clouds. The air smelled of soot, ozone, acid, and metal. But most of all, the air smelled of _death_. The ground was burnt from fire and cracked from something powerful like a jagged blade had ripped it. _

_But a battle was taking place right in front of Jessica. A big brown creature was in the sky, avoiding the aerial attacks fired at it. The one firing the dark attacks was a vampire with black insignias all over his body. Muscles rippled under his ghost white skin. The vampire looked very powerful, more powerful than any vampire Jessica had met or seen. The brown creature looked just as powerful. The two scythe-like blades on the end of its tail were covered in midnight black blood. It too had sinewy muscles rippling beneath its brown scales. It had keen-edged claws that also dripped with black blood. _

_Then Jessica could see two black vampires appear behind the white vampire. They fired spheres of darkness at the white one. But the enemy vampire disappeared before the spheres could blast him. He appeared behind one of the black vampires and ripped into its flesh with his long black nails. The vampire screamed in pain and fell from the sky. The other attacked the enemy with its own talons but again, the enemy teleported out of the way. The enemy fired his own sphere of darkness at the vampire which exploded on contact. The brown creature and the white vampire flew higher into the sky and continued to attack each other with attacks. _

_Jessica instantly knew that she was looking at a battle between Melissa and Tichondrius. The two black vampires were Orlando and James. She noticed two white vampires soared high into the sky to join the fight between the two creatures. She knew that the two vampires were Gloria and Ashley. _

_Someone stood behind her. She turned around to faced this person. It was a man wearing a green and purple robe with intricate designs on it. His shoulder armor was purple and had a big skull of a demon with four huge fangs. Then two snake-like skulls were on both sides of the big one. The man also had a dark purple hood on with a human-like skull on top. The skull had segmented horns that curved up and also had two big fangs. The human was also holding a staff that ended with a big, long, curved silver blade like the weapon of a grim reaper. She instantly knew who it was before he even spoke. "Jessica, we have to help them! Jhevorak can keep our incoming enemies at bay! We have a more important enemy to deal with!" Leon yelled to her. Jhevorak was Leon's loyal dracon stalker, a muscular hell hound that were always loyal to warlocks. _

_Jessica then found herself running with Leon, determined to reach the fight. She could feel blood trickling down her body in various places and could feel pain. She realized that this fight had been going on for some time and she was wounded. But determination made her run despite the wounds. She looked up into the sky and saw Tichondrius curl up into a ball using his wings and then spread them again but this time with a wave of darkness exploding from his body. Gloria and Ashley were hit hard with the wave. They smacked into the ground hard. Melissa charged at Tichondrius and almost got a hold of him. But he slipped from her grasp and sank his black nails into her back. She roared as he ripped her back to shreds, as blood streamed from her back. _

_Jessica felt fear and even more determination to help Melissa. She transformed into her favorite form, the white winged horse. She flew into the air and fired a stream of powerful light from golden armor on her chest. The beam of light struck Tichondrius and Jessica was rewarded with a yelp of pain. But then a blast of darkness hit her on her back. She was surprised by his fast reaction to the attack. She fell from the sky, her wings damaged from the attack. She slammed into the ground hard. Tichondrius landed in front of her and was about to attack again when Melissa landed on his back and sank her long teeth into his neck. Her claws ripped his shoulders, piercing the armor. Tichondrius wailed in pain. He grabbed Melissa's thickly muscled neck and tried to pull her off. His nails sliced her neck but she held on. Jessica saw her chance. She hit Tichondrius on his stomach with her hooves, knocking the air out of him. He fell on the ground from the blow. Tichondrius got up and screamed in rage. He grabbed Melissa's neck again but this time in a frenzy to get her off. He continuously slashed at her neck. Amazingly, Melissa still held on. Then Tichondrius had had enough. He dug his nails into the exposed flesh in her neck—_

—_and began to actually _pull_ at her flesh. She could see him trying to pull the flesh off her neck. Melissa couldn't hold on. She let go and roared in great pain. He grabbed her neck again and threw her several feet away. Her shredded back hit the ground, causing more pain Jessica could see. She finally got up and charged at him. But he simply held his hand out and an unseen force slammed into her, sending her flying into the air. She hit the ground and transformed to normal. She saw Leon also charging at Tichondrius. The vampire grabbed Leon by the neck and threw him against a rock. Soon Orlando, James, Gloria, and Ashley flew at him all at the same time. But he simply said something and a powerful sphere of darkness shielded him, sending another force of unseen power that slammed into all four of the vampires. They landed hard on different areas. When Tichondrius knew that finally everyone was down, he faced Melissa who was still on the ground, unconscious for only a few seconds. She regain consciousness and tried to get up before Tichondrius fired a large sphere of darkness at her. She was thrown even farther than before, slamming into a big rock. She had the wind knocked out of her. Tichondrius began to advance toward her, revenge burning in his eyes._

_Jessica didn't see Duke at all during this fight. She expected him, above all people, to help Melissa and everyone else. For some reason he didn't show up. Caitlin and Johnny weren't here either. She didn't know where they were or why they didn't show up. But there wasn't time for her to ponder about the mystery. She got up and was about to say a spell when Tichondrius used a spell of his own and, once again, she was blasted by an unseen force. Again she was down. Tichondrius continued to advance towards Melissa, who was struggling to get up. The impact on her back had made it a little more difficult to get back. Plus, her strength was diminishing from the loss of blood._

_Every attempt to attack Tichondrius was useless. He would stop everyone in their tracks before they could even touch him. Finally Tichondrius was a considerable distance away from Melissa. She finally got up and stood there facing Tichondrius. Then he yelled, "You have angered me for the last time. I gave you a chance to live, for your friends to surrender. But you made a foolish choice. And now you will pay for it!"_

_"Bring it on Tichondrius! I'd rather die trying to kill you than do nothing like a true fool!!" Melissa screamed in anger._

_Shadow power began to circle Tichondrius' arms. "You will pay for all you have done! You will die as the fool you are!" he yelled. Then he held his hands out and fired a spike of dark energy. Dark energy vines wrapped themselves around Melissa's body, stopping her from moving. She wrestled with the dark vines but couldn't move. The spike got closer and it was aimed for Melissa's chest. Jessica gasped in horror as the spike got even closer. Tichondrius was laughing loudly, even maniacally. He believed this was the end of one of his strongest enemies, Jessica sensed. _

_But it wouldn't end so easily. Jessica heard a roar and suddenly a massive silver dragon flew past above her head. The dragon spat a stream of frost at Tichondrius, who instantly melted it with a spell of fire. Duke shot another stream of frost but again Tichondrius melted it. Then he fired a storm of dark energy balls, which exploded on numerous places on Duke's metallic body. The explosions damaged his wings and he fell in a ball of smoke and metal scales. He landed several feet away from Tichondrius' position._

_Jessica groaned in anger and activated a spell but before it could even take place, dark vines surrounded her and held her in place. The vines covered her mouth, preventing her from saying anything. The dark spike was finally so close, that Melissa would only have a few seconds to escape. But the vines held her firmly. Melissa looked at the spike, the thing that would kill her after all the hell she's been through. Jessica tried to scream, to say something that could help her, but nothing worked. She watched in horror as the spike was only five feet away and in a few seconds would pierce Melissa's scales, finally end her life and—_

—_and suddenly something else got into Melissa's way. The spike punctured the flesh of the blocking person. A familiar cry of agony came from the person. The blocking person fell on the ground. The spike dissipated before her eyes. "NOOOO!!!!!" Jessica heard Melissa cry out. She didn't understand why Melissa yelled. She looked at the person who had just saved Melissa's life. Before her horrified eyes laid someone she had known for a very long time. Someone that she had trusted for years. The person that lied before her, who had just saved Melissa's life and was now dying because of that, was..._

_...their own best friend and leader, Gloria. Gloria had taken the hit herself but now she was dying. _

_Jessica collapsed on her knees, tears flooding her eyes. She hears Melissa scream and roar in rage and anguish. Jessica looked at Gloria, who was bleeding from her chest. She was dying in front of Jessica's eyes and there was nothing she could do. Tichondrius was just laughing, enjoying Gloria's agony and their anguish. Just laughing murderously as their leader, who was now bleeding, suffering, and...and..._

Jessica's eyes suddenly opened. She was breathing rapidly from her nightmare. Leon was right by her side, concern on his face. "Jessica, you're finally awake," he whispered.

Jessica's breathing had slowed down but now tears flooded her eyes. "Jess, what's wrong?" Leon inquired.

Suddenly Jessica threw her arms around him and buried her face into Leon's chest. She cried nonstop, terrified by her nightmare. Leon would occasionally say soothing words to calm Jessica down. It took about 15 minutes for Jessica to quiet down, although it felt longer. Leon led Jessica outside and they both sat down, away from everyone else. Leon, concerned about Jessica, asked her the same question. "Jessica, what's wrong?"

"Leon, it was horrible. It was just horrible to watch it happen," Jessica answered. She thought she was going to cry again.

"Jessica, what are you talking about? What did you see that scared you?"

Jessica hesitantly told Leon about her nightmare, about what had occurred at the end that scared her so badly. "I saw her die, Leon. I saw her sacrifice her life to protect Melissa. I couldn't help Gloria or Melissa. Tichondrius was just laughing and...oh God, it was horrible." Jessica could feel tears coming back. "I don't know what to do. I don't know if it's true or if it was just a nightmare. I just don't want to see that again."

"Jess, calm down. It was just a dream."

"Leon, it was too real to be a dream. I could feel everything that happened. I could smell fire and lightning and feel myself fight against Tichondrius. I could even feel my own blood trickle down my body. It was far too real to be a simple dream."

"Do you think it was a possible premonition?"

"Oh God, I really hope not. I really hope that it wasn't."

"Jess, just relax."

"How can I relax when Gloria could be in danger of dying?!" Jessica began to cry again.

Leon brought her close to him and again he continued saying words that would help soothe her. Within a few minutes, Jessica had relaxed again. She gently pushed herself away from Leon and just sat there. Silence settled in. Then Jessica asked, "Leon, should I wait until morning to tell Gloria or tell her now?"

"Tell Gloria? You shouldn't do that."

"Why not?"

"Gloria has enough to worry about Jess. Telling her this will make her even more worried than ever and she might do something to change the course of destiny, assuming this is true."

"But we _can _change the course of destiny. We can help prevent her death."

"No, we can't. If she is truly destined to die, then she will, no matter what we do to stop it. The gods have already decided her destiny."

"How can you just allow our friend to die? How can you just give up??"

"Because I've tried to do it before!"

Leon's angry reply had surprised Jessica. "I'm sorry for yelling at you Jessica, but I've tried before and once the gods decide the destiny of someone, they will stick with that," Leon explained. "That's why you shouldn't tell Gloria, whether this was a premonition or not. She might try to change the course of destiny. And nothing we do will change what may happen. Do not tell Gloria. It might be better to tell her when the time comes, perhaps when we go into battle against Tichondrius. Besides, we don't even know if she truly dies. I mean, she might just be greatly injured by whatever hit her in your dream."

Jessica sighed. "You may be right. It may be better to tell when the time comes. And I guess she could've just been injured. Leon, I thank you for helping me. It may be best to tell Gloria when the time is right."

"Indeed it may. Now you get some sleep. You've had a rough night."

Jessica only nodded in reply. She gave Leon a last hug and kissed him good night. Then she went back inside and back to sleep. Leon stayed outside a while longer, thinking about what he had said. He had a bad feeling about Jessica's "premonition" and believed that perhaps, he was wrong about not telling Gloria about Jessica's nightmare. But he didn't want Gloria to have to worry about her life as well. He knew that if Jessica told her, she would probably try to change her destiny, which is impossible. He wasn't sure if what he told Jessica was the right thing or not. But at least they knew what to expect when the battle against Tichondrius began assuming this was a look into the future.

Tired of all that had happened today, Leon went back inside. He too would keep quiet about what had happened this night until the time was right. Until then, he would have to worry about what was going on now with their growing army. He went back into the room he shared with Jessica and went back to sleep as well.


	17. Silver Dragon VS Red Dragon

Chapter XVI: Silver Dragon VS Red Dragon

* * *

1 week later...

* * *

"Gloria, I have found worthy allies for our army," Drake reported.

"What monsters are these?" Gloria inquired.

"These creatures should sound familiar to you. You obviously have dealt with these creatures," Drake continued. "I have found a band of silver dragons to help us in our army. I have spoken to them and they've agreed to take us to the other good dragons of Earth."

"Ah, the silver dragons," Gloria said, pleased. "I believe these metallic dragons would be a superior addition to the army. I'll prepare the others and we will be on our way."

Drake nodded in reply. Gloria headed back inside. All of her friends were waiting for her inside a room called the Conference room. They went there to discuss their next plans for their growing army. Gloria sat on a black chair while everyone else sat on a row of comfortable chairs in front of her. "Ok guys, you've had a long break already. It's time to go back to work. Drake tells me that there is a group of silver dragons around here that are willing to take us to other metallic dragons. Duke, I need you to come with me. You may be able to convince them to join, although I don't see why they wouldn't. Leon, James, and Caitlin, I want you guys to come with me. Ashley, Orlando, Johnny, Jessica, I want you guys to stay here and guard this place with the Guardians, the Vahki, and the magicians. Now let's move!"

Duke, James, Leon, and Caitlin got up and joined Gloria as she left the Conference room. Drake was outside, waiting patiently for them. When they were outside, Duke transformed into his silver form. Gloria, Leon, James, and Caitlin climbed on his back and Duke and Drake both took off, heading towards the location of the silver dragons.

* * *

The two dragons landed on a large cliff overlooking a lake an hour later. Gloria and the others climbed off Duke's back and walked with Drake as he led them to where he met the silver dragons. Duke remained in his form but walked with them. They walked for nearly 20 minutes before they finally stopped before a big hill to rest for a minute. "I will go and talk to them while I wait for you guys," Drake said. He began walking up the hill. 

"Are you guys ready to go? We don't have much further to go," Duke asked.

"Yeah I think we're ready now," Leon said.

All of them continued after their short break. They walked up the big hill, ready to meet these silver dragons. Drake was at the top but wasn't moving at all. Gloria began to wonder why he hadn't moved. No dragon or living being was talking to him. He just stood there, looking out to the north. They continued their walk up the hill when Duke stopped as they reached the top. His eyes were wide and his jaws were gaping. Gloria and the others didn't understand why Duke was doing that. Until they reached the top.

When they did, they couldn't believe what they saw. What they saw was a slaughter. There were dozens of silver dragons both young and old, torn to shreds by what seemed like teeth and claw. Some were cruelly burned. Blood was smeared on rocks and it soaked the ground. But it wasn't just dead silver dragons. There were also many red dragons, some frozen completely while others were also torn up. The ground was burned with fire and frozen with ice. Smoke filled the air as well as the scent of burnt flesh.

Gloria, Leon, Caitlin, James, Duke, and Drake couldn't believe their eyes. A great battle had occurred between silver and red dragons within the hour that Drake had conversed with the silvers. And it seemed like _all_ the silvers were killed. "Why would the red dragons kill these silver dragons?" Caitlin wondered.

"Red dragons are evil and will fight the metallic dragons when given the chance. Reds, blues, whites, blacks, and greens are in a never-ending war with golds, silvers, brasses, coppers, and bronzes. It is just upsetting that these reds were able to kill these silvers before they were able to take us to the other metallic dragons," Drake explained.

Duke suddenly moved past them, still shocked by what was in front of him. He couldn't believe that these reds were able to kill all the silvers and rage began to grow inside him. He wanted to get revenge for the deaths of these silvers. And soon he would get his chance.

His friends caught up to him and they walked together past all the dead bodies of the dragons around them. They wanted to see if there were any survivors left from this bloody battle. Suddenly Duke smelled the scent of a living silver dragon. He immediately began to follow to where the scent was coming from. Drake and the others struggled to keep up with him. Duke jumped onto a rock and to his horror, saw a young silver dragon cornered against another rock and a massive red dragon growling at it. His friends were right behind him, also horrified by what they saw.

The red dragon opened its jaws and small bursts of flames erupted from its jaws. It was preparing to burn the last silver. But Duke would not allow it. With all his strength, he jumped from the rock, landing only a few feet away from the red and silver. The crimson beast looked at Duke with a hateful look. His friends were running to him, but Duke signaled them to stop and leave him alone. This battle was between him and the red. "Leave that wrymling alone!" he yelled in rage.

"Why should I? Like any silver, she deserves to burn," the red hissed.

This enraged Duke even more. "You're just a coward, picking on the younger silver dragons. You're too scared to fight an adult dragon."

This made the red angry. "How dare you call me a coward!" The red dragon raised its head high and bellowed, "I am no coward. I am the angel of darkness, the master of magic. I am the executioner of pathetic metallic dragons, the bringer of death. I am Fysera!"

"The angel of darkness? What kind of dragon believes that, let alone calls herself that?" Caitlin inquired.

"Obviously a very evil and narcissistic one," James answered.

"If you aren't a coward then leave the wrymling alone," Duke ordered. "If you want her then you'll have to kill me first!"

"What is he doing? He has no idea how powerful that red may be!" Leon commented.

"I think he knows what he's doing," said Gloria.

"Besides, it's in his blood to fight any chromatic dragon. He _is_ a silver dragon," Drake added

The red thought about Duke's challenge. She wanted to fight Duke for calling her a coward. But then again she could just kill the wrymling now with a quick burst of flame…

No. She wanted a challenge. She will kill the foolish silver first. Once she finished him off, she could do what she wanted with the pathetic silver. But when she saw his human friends, she had an idea. She wanted to make a deal with the silver to make things interesting. "Alright, silver. I will fight you. If I win, I will kill this wrymling and kill those pathetic friends of yours."

Duke looked back at his friends. He doubted that Fysera could actually kill them easily but then again, he didn't know what kind of power Fysera possessed, which made him worry. Was he about to risk his friends to save one wrymling? He sighed. "Alright," Duke agreed.

"What? He's going to risk us to save a dragon??" Leon asked.

"It is in his blood to now help any silver dragon he meets. Besides, it's five against one. If Duke somehow dies in this fight, at least we'll know what we're up against. Fysera will use her abilities to try and kill Duke and with that, we'll know what to do to avoid that happening," Drake explained.

"So, it isn't all that bad," Gloria added.

"Exactly," said Drake.

"You're a very foolish dragon, Duke. You would risk your friends just to try and fight me? Foolish but indeed courageous. I'll give you that," Fysera commented.

Duke narrowed his eyes. He wanted to fight now, not waste time talking. He snorted and icy air erupted from his nostrils. "Let us start now, scarlet killer!"

Duke spat a sudden blast of frost at Fysera. Unlike Melissa whose new breath weapon was ice, Duke had his frost breath since he first became dragon but just never really used it. Fysera easily avoided the frost attack and retaliated with a stream of fire. Duke quickly took wing, avoiding the deadly attack. Fysera also took wing, ready to take the fight to the skies.

As the two great dragons flew higher, Gloria, Drake, James, Leon, and Caitlin only watched. But then Caitlin had a thought. "Guys, shouldn't we take this wrymling with us? We might be able to escape with her if Duke loses, which I hope he doesn't."

"If you guys do try to escape then you can, but I will stay back and fight. I will not allow a red dragon to get away with killing the good dragons," Drake declared.

"But we can't just leave you behind," James said.

"We will respect your choice Drake. We will leave you if it comes to that," Gloria decided.

Drake looked at her. "Thank you for understanding Gloria."

Leon, Caitlin, and James did not argue with Gloria's decision. Drake walked to the wrymling together with Gloria and the others. The wrymling did not say anything or move. She allowed them to approach. "It is alright, young one. We mean you no harm," Drake said, shielding her with his wing.

The wrymling didn't move or reply. Just stayed close to her saviors. Suddenly, the ground shook from a loud roar. Everyone looked up to see that the fight had officially begun. Duke hadn't been harmed and neither had Fysera. But they both seemed frustrated by the fight.

"How about you fight me like a true metallic dragon, coward?!" Fysera demanded.

Duke only snorted. This made Fysera more frustrated. "That dragon does get angry easily," James observed.

Then Fysera spat a stream of fire. Duke tried to avoid but his tail was seared. He growled in pain but quickly turned around and fired a bolt of blue lightning. Fysera muttered something and quickly teleported out of the way. "You are a silver dragon! How can you have lightning as your breath weapon?!" she demanded. From her knowledge, only the blue dragons possess the dragon breath of lightning.

"I am very different from silver dragons that you have fought before. My lightning breath is only one of the different attacks that you've never seen a silver dragon use."

Fysera growled and charged at Duke. He flew out of the way and fired another blue bolt of lightning. It blasted Fysera, electrocuting her. She roared in pain and muttered something else. Then she disappeared before Duke's eyes. He looked around him but couldn't find the serpent. _Where did that damn bitch go?! _Duke wondered in more frustration.

Suddenly claws ripped into his shoulders and wings and fire surrounded his head. Duke roared in agony. He tried to get the crimson beast off his back, but to no avail. Fysera got off his back and again spat a stream of hellish fire. He was surrounded by the fire, his scales burning as well as his open wounds from the sudden slash attacks. Gloria, James, Leon, Caitlin, Drake, and the young silver could only watch as Duke was surrounded by a blossom of hellish dragon fire. He cried out, his wail a sharp cry of impossible agony. When the fire dissipated, he fell, his body cruelly burned, his scales coming off to reveal blackened, peeling flesh, his wing membrane slowly burning into ashes. The once mighty silver dragon fell to Earth.

Gloria could only watch with horrified eyes as her friend fell from the sky, cruelly burned by the red dragon. Her hatred towards the dragon suddenly grew to a venomous hostility. She wanted to go into battle and kill the dragon. But she had to wait. She wasn't really sure whether Duke was truly dead or not. But she had faith in him. Fysera, on the other hand, believed that Duke was dead. She only laughed in victory.

But the fight between the two dragons was not yet over.

Suddenly light exploded from what seemed like nowhere, blinding Fysera, Gloria, Leon, Caitlin, Drake, James, and the wrymling. Then a loud roar rocked the ground. From the sudden burst of light, Gloria and her friends could see a pair of glistening wings stretch to its full length. With one big flap of those wings, something soared high into the sky. The blinding light died down and finally they could all see. Gloria then saw what made her filled with relief.

Duke flapped his mighty wings and soared back up into the sky. He saved himself in the nick of time. He looked at Fysera, who seemed annoyed. "How are you well again?" she demanded.

"I also have magic, Fysera. A spell that can help heal all my wounds, no matter how terrible they may be. You're not the only one who can use sorcery," Duke explained.

Fysera seemed more irritated than ever. Jaws gaping, she blasted Duke with another stream of fire. But this time, he avoided it. He blasted Fysera with his lightning breath but instead of just one lightning bolt, he blasted her with a fury of lightning, which ripped into her ribs and electrocuted her. She screamed in pain and flew away to avoid another fury of lightning. Duke was tired of her flying away from him. And he had a way to stop her. "Seithr!" he yelled.

His muscular chest expanded as he took in a deep breath. Then he roared a loud, fearsome roar that stopped Fysera and affected her hearing and vision. This was Duke's chance to do the same thing she had done to him, but more deadly. "Ignathr," he whispered.

He was masked with invisibility and slowly waited until Fysera returned to normal. Until then he watched her carefully.

Fysera's vision had been blurred by the silver dragon's roar. She did not understand what kind of sorcery this was. Perhaps the dragon truly was far more superior to any other silver she had fought…Duke didn't seem to be the foolish dragon she thought he was. Nonetheless, she couldn't just give up. She was determined to kill this silver. Suddenly a flash of silver caught her eye. She growled and blasted the silver with a stream of her powerful fire. She could not hear a roar of pain. She could still hear pretty well despite the roar. "Where are you dragon? Are you too afraid to fight me now?" she demanded.

She saw the silver shape again and blasted it with her fire. But again she apparently missed. She growled in anger. She looked around again and saw the silver shape. She fired again and was rewarded with a roar of pain. She laughed in triumph and yelled, "You can't defeat me, Duke. Even with your advanced sorcery, you cannot win!"

Duke watched Fysera in amusement. He had roared to make it seem like she had hit him. But he waited above her, perfectly safe. After a few minutes, the spell wore off and Fysera's sight and hearing returned to normal. Duke made his move. He suddenly clung onto her back, just as she did with him. He deactivated the invisible spell and began to do what she did to him. His black claws ripped into her shoulders and wings. But this time, he sank his teeth into Fysera's powerful neck. He ripped her back to shreds as well as her thighs with the claws of his feet. The dragon made a pathetic attempt to get him off her back. But he hung on. He dug his claws deep into Fysera's back. Again, she made a pathetic attempt to get Duke off. But she did not succeed.

Finally he thought it was time to get off and attack from the air. So he let her go and flew up high into the air. With all his fury, Duke blasted Fysera with a fury of blue and white lightning. The ground shook violently as the lightning exploded on contact. Fysera wailed in great agony. Then Duke blasted her with a storm of frost. It froze most of the massive red dragon's body, including her wings. She cried even more. For Duke's ultimate attack, he fired electricity, fire, and frost at the same time. Fire and frost circled the beam of electricity and blasted Fysera with tremendous force. The powerful attack resulted in a huge explosion that blinded the silver dragon. He was forced to watch through the protective screens of his inner eyelids. Then the light died out and the red dragon's body fell from the sky, scales scalded away from the frost and lightning, flesh blackened and ripped open, wing membrane shredded away, the powerful neck tucked and curled.

She crashed into the tip of a cliff and finally hit the ground. She was sprawled out and didn't move. Duke landed in front of her and noticed that she was actually still _alive_. She struggled to get up but collapsed. Duke only smiled in triumph but was impressed with the fact that she actually survived such a powerful attack. "C'mon Fysera, show me your true power," he sneered, giving her a toothy grin.

Fysera was muttering something and Duke knew that she was trying to say a spell. Before she could finish, he had his right clawed forepaw on her neck, preventing her from saying anything. "There's still one more thing I want to do before you can go and heal yourself, assuming you can," Duke uttered.

He closed his jaws on her right wing limb. Then he began to pull her right wing. The red dragon tried to roar but because of Duke's forepaw, she couldn't. It was obvious that she was in great pain.

Suddenly Duke could hear the cracking of bone as he continued to pull. He tasted warm, sweet blood in his mouth and knew that what he was doing was beginning to work. There was more cracking noises coming from the wing. Suddenly, Fysera's badly damaged wing was actually _ripped _from her body, breaking from the bone. Blood gushed from the huge hole where her wing used to be. This was Duke's plan. To rip off Fysera's wings to prevent her from flying and make her suffer.

He went to her left side, his forepaw still on Fysera's neck, and sank his teeth in the same spot of her left wing. He pulled at that one as well. Fysera could only groan in pain. The left wing was ripped off, blood streaming from the hole. Finally he removed his forepaw from Fysera. The injured red dragon finally roared in torment. Duke stood in front of her again, smiling in triumph but not willing to let the fight end so fast. He wanted to prolong the red dragon's suffering, to have her pay for the slaughter. "Waise heill," he muttered.

Fysera's wounds began to heal. Flesh began to come together; scales began to grow back, and the holes, where the wings used to be, closed up. The red dragon was completely healed.

Gloria, James, Leon, Caitlin, Drake, and the silver wrymling had been watching the fight the whole time and none of them could believe what Duke just did. "Why the hell did he just heal Fysera??" Leon wondered.

"It seems like we'll just have to find out," Caitlin answered.

The red dragon looked up at Duke, who towered before her. "Now it's your chance to show me your true power. Now...fight me!" Duke taunted.

Fysera growled and without hesitation, tried to sink her teeth into Duke's unprotected neck. But Duke reacted faster. He bit Fysera's snout and threw her to the ground. Fysera glared at Duke and whipped Duke with her tail, leaving a gash across his chest. He growled in pain and retaliated. He slashed Fysera but she evaded him. Then she sunk her cruel claws into Duke's mighty shoulders and bit Duke's throat. She pushed him onto his back. Duke placed his back legs on Fysera's stomach and with all his might, flipped the massive dragon onto her back. The ground shook violently from the massive weight of the dragon. His throat was bleeding freely and more badly than Duke believed. Before he could get up again, Fysera blasted him with a stream of fire. Duke screeched in great pain as he was being burned yet again. He fired a fury of lightning at her again, which tore into Fysera's flesh and scales.

In anger, Fysera bit Duke's side and began thrashing around, tearing into his flesh even more. Duke growled in pain and closed his jaws on Fysera's arm. Then he was able to pull some flesh off of her arm. She let go, growling from the pain. Duke saw his chance. Spitting the flesh from his mouth, he grabbed her neck with his jaws and using all of his might, threw her over his head and onto her back. He was on his own back when he let go. Then he yelled, "Estra recr udel!"

The spell stopped Fysera from moving as soon as she got up. She tried to move but the spell prevented her. Duke flew up into the sky and prepared himself for the final move. Fysera said something that deactivated the spell. She muttered something else and she teleported several feet away from Duke. Although she had no wings, she was using a spell that would allow her to levitate for a small amount of time. Fire flickered around her jaws, a sign that she was going to blast him with all her power. She fired a stream of fire but before it could reach Duke, he bellowed in his deep voice, "Torndio de triclisk!!"

He roared in final victory as he charged at her. Electricity surrounded him and created a tornado of lightning. The red dragon was hit instantly, literally ripping into her body. A huge explosion followed. The ground shook more violently than ever, knocking Gloria and the others off their balance. Then two things fell in a ball of smoke. Both slammed into the ground and everything fell silent. Gloria looked at the things that fell from the sky. One was the body of Fysera, ripped beyond recognition. But Gloria knew it was her. The other ended up being Duke; his once gleaming body was burned pretty badly. He wasn't moving. "Is he dead?" James asked.

"I really hope not," Gloria muttered, worried. She ran to Duke's body. The others soon joined her. Gloria knelt by Duke's large head, trying to see if he was still alive. When he hit the red dragon, the combination of fire and electricity created a dangerous explosion which might've killed Duke. She said the healing words and within a few seconds, he was completely healed. A few seconds later, Duke slowly opened his eyes. "Hey," Gloria greeted.

"Hey G," Duke greeted with a smile. "Thanks for healing me."

Gloria nodded. Then she added, "You fought valiantly."

"Thanks," Duke said.

He lifted his head and faced the young silver wrymling. No longer afraid, she finally said, "Thank you, mighty one." She bowed before him in respect.

Duke raised his head high and said, "You're quite welcome, young one. It is my duty to help other silvers."

The wrymling smiled. "Now, maybe you can start by telling us your name," Gloria mentioned.

"I am Silgona, daughter of Natira and Siron," Silgona responded. At the mentioning of her parents, the young silver dragon frowned. She was almost immediately filled with sadness.

Duke felt sorry for the wrymling. She could only have been about 10 or 11 years old—considered very young to dragons, unlike with humans—and she had lost both her parents, plus friends and any brothers or sisters. He sighed and placed his massive wing around her. Finally he asked, "If you are up to it, can you tell us how this all happened?"

Silgona only sighed. "That's only if you are up to it Silgona," Caitlin reassured her. "We're not forcing you to tell us."

"No. I'll tell you," Silgona said. "Just give me a minute."

They waited until Silgona had calmed down enough to tell them her story. "Ok. I'll tell you," Silgona began. "I was with my mother and father, just resting. The other silver dragons were eating, resting, playing, and doing other things. We were doing what we always do. Then those wretched red dragons showed up and attacked us, taking us by surprise, as the cowards they are. Many of the younger dragons were incinerated almost immediately. The adults promptly took off, including my parents. I was forced to hide in the grotto that my family lived in but a red dragon followed me. I couldn't do anything except fight him. I was lucky enough to defeat him but then more showed up. About three showed up and all of them trapped me in the grotto. I had no way of escaping and I thought that for sure I was going to die. And then my father showed up in front of me and froze one of the dragons with his mighty frost breath. But the other two began to slash at him, began to hurt him with their claws. I could only watch...as my father...risked his life to protect me..." Silgona suddenly broke down in tears. It was rare to see any dragon cry.

Duke gently nudged Silgona and whispered, "You do not have to tell the rest, Silgona."

"I will continue," Silgona managed to say with determination in her voice. "The red dragons were tearing up my father and then my mother came to his aid. Together they were able to kill those vile reds. But my father was terribly wounded and could not continue the fight. He fell to the ground and slowly died as I stayed in the grotto, trying to survive. Many of the silvers killed the reds at the cost of their own life. The younger generation began to fight as well but I was frozen with fear and I didn't do anything. Many of them were killed instantly but some did put up a good fight. I saw my mother burned to death by two reds. I couldn't see anymore of the fight. I closed my eyes and could only wait until the battle was over. The fight went on for what felt to me like two hours. Then when it fell silent, I went outside to check if it was finally over but found that big red dragon waiting for me. She chased me until I couldn't fly anymore. I tried to fight back but she avoided all my moves. I thought for sure I was going to die. But then you, all of you, showed up. So I thank you once again. I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for you."

"Hey, it's our job to protect the good," Caitlin said. "I'm just glad that we come just in time."

"I have never seen any silver fight as you do, mighty one," Silgona commented. "And you are the most courageous silver I have met."

Duke smiled at the compliment. Indeed, he did fight unlike many silvers, besides Melissa. He agreed with that but he didn't think he was the most courageous silver dragon. He had seen dragons do as he did to help his kind. "Thank you for the compliment. Also, my name is Duke. Not mighty one," Duke introduced. "These people are Gloria, James, Caitlin, and Leon, my friends."

"These humans are your friends?" Silgona asked.

"Humans? We're not humans, Silgona. These are just disguises," Leon said.

"Indeed. I am a vampire as is James, Caitlin is a pirate, and Leon is a warlock," Gloria explained.

"I've never met a pirate, vampire, and warlock. You are a very strange group," Silgona observed.

"I have forgotten to introduce our other dragon friend, Drake," Duke added.

Silgona looked at Drake and commented, "You are a dragon I've never seen."

"I am a crystal dragon," Drake said. "You are one of the very few silvers I've met."

"Silgona, we must discuss important matters," Duke said. "Gloria, would you like to explain?"

"Indeed," said Gloria. "Now Silgona, we had originally come here to speak with the silver dragons to see if they could help us. Unfortunately, those reds attacked and we weren't able to get the information we need. What we need from you is the location of the other metallic dragons. We need the help of these dragons. We can explain why later but we must find out who they are. If you do not know the location then that is alright. We can still take you back home with us. So please, do you know the whereabouts of the metallic dragons?"

"I can assure you that I do know the whereabouts of the metallic dragons," Silgona responded.

Everyone was filled with happiness. Now they were going somewhere. "Come Silgona. We shall fly to the metallic dragons," Duke said. He got up and crouched a little for Gloria, Leon, Caitlin, and James. Silgona did not move but inquired, "Do you mind if I ride you as well? Believe it or not, I haven't been taught to fly."

This surprised Duke. Normally, a dragon would know how to fly by eight. And yet this one didn't even know how to hover. Silgona wasn't very big so he knew that he'd be able to have her ride him. "That is alright Silgona. Climb on," he replied.

Silgona climbed onto Duke's back and lied down near his neck. With everyone on his back and Drake ready to fly, he took off with one mighty flap of his wings. Silgona began to give Duke directions to wherever they were headed. Silence had settled in and Caitlin decided to start a conversation. "Hey Silgona, where are we heading to anyway?" she asked.

"We're heading to a place called Aru'gorez. All metallic dragons meet there whether for a meeting or just to hang out I guess. I've never been there but I've heard many stories about it. My father told me that's where they worship the three rulers of Aru'gorez: Hellmos, ruler of fire, Critias, ruler of electricity, and Timaeus, ruler of wind," explained Silgona.

"Hellmos, Critias, and Timaeus??" Duke wondered. "I thought they were only legends."

"I do not know myself. But I have heard many legends on them. But never have I met them," Silgona explained. "Hellmos, Critias, and Timaeus are said to be the most powerful of all good dragons. They do not live in Aru'gorez. Instead, they live in three separate places. Hellmos is said to reside within an active volcano, Critias in a cavern somewhere deep inside a cliff, and Timaeus in a cavern high above the clouds. But I do not know if they even exist and if they do, if they're alive."

"I guess we'll just have to wait and find out," added James.

They were silent for the rest of the journey.


	18. The Gods' Plan

Chapter XVII: The Gods' Plan

"What are we going to do about Tichondrius?" Gryphon asked. "He has already taken one of the World's Guardians and so far she has proved to be very powerful. She's defeated the other Guardians."

"There is nothing we can do," Avani said. "Our powers are far too dangerous. It's all up to the Guardians to decide what to do about the captured one."

"The Guardians have a much better chance to survive the captured one's attacks now that they have strong allies. The captured one doesn't stand a chance alone," Hyozanryu clarified.

"That may be. But it's only a matter of time before once again the captured one, Melissa, is able to defeat them. Tichondrius is going to do whatever it takes to make her powerful," Gren Maju Da Eiza added.

"Indeed," Tranquility agreed. "Although that is bound to happen, we can't simply lose faith in them. They are strong and they will find a way to defeat Tichondrius themselves."

"Slifer, what do you think?" Gryphon inquired.

The great serpent dragon didn't reply. He did not know what was to be done to solve the problem going on back at Earth. He was apprehensive about using their power to help defeat Tichondrius. He had faith in the World's Guardians. "Tranquility is right. We can't lose faith in them. They are the only ones that can stop him. But if Melissa is to remain captured and victorious over the World's Guardians, then we will think of a way to help. For now, let's give them time," he uttered.

Avani, Gryphon, Hyozanryu, Gren, and Tranquility did not argue with Slifer's idea. Desdemonda had not attended the meeting. She did not wish to speak of Tichondrius, although no one knew why.

"This meeting is over," Slifer announced.

Avani, Gryphon, Hyozanryu, and Gren left without saying anything. Tranquility stayed behind. "That was a wise choice you made Slifer," she commented.

"I don't know Tranquility," Slifer disagreed. "I haven't lost faith in our chosen heroes but I fear that they will be defeated by Tichondrius. I fear the world will lose one of their greatest guardians."

"We all fear that. But I have confidence in them. They will be able to defeat Tichondrius. They just need time."

"But it's not only Tichondrius I'm worried about. I also fear Melissa will die as the captured Guardian she is now. She has proved that rage can be the most destructive power of all. I also fear the loss of their leader, Gloria. Now she has been infected with that virus and if she dies, I don't think her team can go on to fight him. She has led them this far. She will be greatly needed in their final battle against him."

"I understand your fears, Slifer, but the Guardians have been able to pull through before. Their powers are also improving and they are discovering new ones. Not only that, they're recruiting the best of the best for their own army. They will indeed have a powerful army. If anything is to happen, we shall discuss it. If help is needed by them, then help they shall get. We need to be able to make sure that the Guardians stay alive to protect the world for thousands of years to come. Yes, our powers are far too strong, but it's a risk we have to be willing to take. If it comes to that, we have to consider it."

Slifer sighed loudly. "Perhaps you are right Tranquility. If it comes to that, then we will consider helping the Guardians. Otherwise, we shall leave them alone to finish the job. I just hope we won't come to regret this later."

"We won't."

"We have regretted not helping the chosen heroes in the past. I would not be able to forgive myself if we were to lose the best Guardians we have had in years."

Tranquility came up to Slifer and looked at him straight in the eye. "You worry far too much about things. We are doing what is right for Earth. If we go down there and unleash our rage on Tichondrius, the world can be destroyed. We have to have the Guardians fix it themselves. That's their job. You have made a good decision. You have never failed us as a leader before. You will not regret this."

Slifer smiled and said, "You always did find ways to make me feel better."

Tranquility also smiled. Suddenly their moment was interrupted by Desdemona. She seemed very upset. "Desdemona, is everything alright?" Tranquility asked with concern.

"No. There is something I must tell you something I've kept secret this entire time," Desdemona answered.

Slifer and Tranquility seemed more concerned. "What is it?" Slifer asked.

"Tichondrius is in truth…my very brother," Desdemona revealed.


	19. Hellmos, Critias, and Timaeus

Chapter XVIII: Hellmos, Critias, and Timaeus

They had all stayed at Aru'gorez for about two days now, discussing the war with the lead dragons: Goldareos, leader of golds, Silvaros, leader of silvers, Redfyre, the leader of brasses, Acideox, leader of the coppers, and Tizaraeus, leader of the bronzes. Goldareos, Silvaros, Redfyre, Acideox, and Tizaraeus agreed to join their war but they would stay in Aru'gorez. They also told Duke, Gloria, Drake, Leon, James, and Caitlin where the three mighty dragons, Hellmos, Critias, and Timaeus, were residing. Silgona was told to stay behind while the group left to speak with the three dragons of fire, wind, and electricity.

They had been flying for over an hour before they were close to the first dragon, Hellmos. "Duke, do you know a lot about these dragons?" Caitlin asked, breaking the silence between all of them.

"I don't know much about the three dragons but I do know that they are supposed to be very powerful," Duke replied. "But I can't say much."

"Hey I think we're here," James announced.

They all saw a massive volcano, spewing lava that slowly flowed down the side of the great black mountain. Duke and Drake landed a mile away from the volcano. Everyone else got off their backs and watched the volcano. It was far too dangerous for them to go near the volcano. "How are we supposed to get Hellmos to come out?" wondered Leon.

"I will go and get him to come out," Drake announced. "I am immune to fire, unlike you guys."

"Are you going to be ok on your own?" asked Gloria.

"Of course. I cannot be hurt by fire whatsoever and Hellmos will not hurt me unless I don't identify myself," clarified Drake.

"Ok we'll be waiting," Gloria said.

Drake spread his wings and took flight towards the volcano. Everyone else just stayed where they were and watched, waiting for Drake to come back.

Several minutes later, the volcano's eruption took a violent turn. There was an explosion of lava that flew into the air, making a magnificent fountain of fiery lava. In fear of the safety of his friends, Duke flew them even further from the volcano.

The lava began moving at a much faster pace. It moved like heated water down the side of the mountain. Suddenly the earth shook violently. Gloria and the others didn't know why but Duke wasn't taking any chances. He told everyone to climb on his back again. Once he got Leon, Caitlin, James, and Gloria, he flew up into the air, high above the ground. The earthquake continued on for a few more minutes. They continued watching as the volcano began to spew more lava like a small fountain, burning everything in its path, putting green life on fire, spewing relentlessly—

_KABOOM!!_

—the volcano exploded with all its power, far more deadly than the last. Ash flew up into the air, lava flew to various places. The earth crumbled under the volcano's immense explosion. The ash went up into the air almost in a mushroom shaped black cloud similar to explosions by powerful bombs. Within a matter of seconds, lava engulfed the place where Duke and his friends were previously standing before he took them into the air again.

He wasn't sure about it, but Leon thought he had seen something jump out of the volcano. It looked like a black thing covered in lava. He was about to tell his friends when a massive crimson thing landed in the lava, splashing it everywhere. Duke flew out of the way to avoid the lava. The crimson thing slowly rose, spreading its giant wings slowly. Finally Duke and the others could get a better look at it once it was finally standing on all fours and its wings were spread out and now resting by its side.

The color was not of crimson blood but more like a lighter red, its underbelly a pinkish color. Beige spikes ran down the length of its back. It had five beige claws on each foot. It had a beige horn on its nose, a spike the same color at the end of its jaws on both sides pointing up, eyes with a yellow iris, and its head had spikes (although not dangerous) on the back, similar to a crest. Finally it had immense, muscular wings with purple wing membrane and a beige claw.

Duke and the others stared in awe at the great beast. The dragon roared at them loudly. It was much bigger than Duke himself. He only reached up to its elbow when it was standing on all fours.

The fearsome dragon did not attack but instead said in a deep voice, "I believe you are looking for me."

"Why, yes we are. Who are you?" Caitlin asked.

"I am Hellmos, one of the rulers of the great metallic dragons. And who are you?" Hellmos asked.

Duke never thought he would be able to meet Hellmos himself. He had heard tons of legends about him and always considered him a myth. But here, in front of his very eyes, was the dragon some believed to be the ruler of fire.

"I am Gloria and these are my friends Leon, Caitlin, James, and Duke. You've already met Drake. As you may have been told, we are in a war against a great vampire named Tichondrius. He has kidnapped one of my friends and we are creating an army to save her and defeat Tichondrius. We are looking for only the strongest monsters to join."

Hellmos looked at Gloria oddly. She didn't understand why. Then the dragon said, "I shall join your quest to vanquish this vampire. But I must tell you this. You cannot hope to win a war by just strength alone. To create a great army, you must have great numbers and clever warriors as well as powerful. You cannot hope to win against a being like Tichondrius if you concentrate so much on power. It doesn't work like that."

"Well thank you for the advice," Gloria commented. "I'll be sure to change our choices for monsters. Now if you can, may you come with us to get the other dragons Timaeus and Critias?"

"Ah, my brothers Timaeus and Critias…haven't seen them in years," Hellmos muttered softly. Gloria thought he didn't mean to say it out loud. She asked, "They are your brothers?"

"Indeed. Although we are very different from each other, we are still brothers. And to answer your question, yes I will join you. It will take a while to find them, however."

Gloria said, "We must find them ASAP. Time is of the essence."

"Indeed. Now please, while we find my brothers, explain to me what happened with your captured friend. You seem to be in a hurry to create an army. And haste can be an army's downfall. That is also why I believe you wanted just the strongest monsters. Am I not correct?"

Gloria was impressed by the great dragon. She wanted to create an army of the strongest monsters but yes it was in haste. She wanted to get her friend out ASAP and get her revenge for the kidnapping of her friend and hurting her for disobeying orders. "Perhaps you are right. Even I don't know," she finally said.

"Maybe because you have so much on your mind you are not thinking clearly about the creation of your army."

"Maybe."

"You and I can discuss this later when we are alone. For now, let's go and find my brothers and explain to me what has occurred."

Gloria nodded in reply. Hellmos wanted to speak with Gloria alone, so she ended up transforming into her own form and flying with him while the others would stay behind them at all times. They did not want to intrude on the discussion. So finally they al took off, heading to the lair of Timaeus.

* * *

"So your friend is being forced to attack you and your allies because of this Tichondrius?" Hellmos asked.

"Yes," Gloria replied.

"And if she doesn't do as told?"

"Then Tichondrius will either use that virus to hurt me or Duke or anyone else he chooses. Or he will torture my friend himself."

"Terrible……So when are you hoping to get her out?"

"When our army is ready."

"If I were you, I would get her out when I have at least some strong monsters. With what he does to her, it may be too late when you finally create your entire army. Consider going when you have a considerable amount of powerful monsters as your allies."

"I will."

It had been nearly half an hour when Gloria was finally done telling Hellmos of what had occurred since Melissa's kidnapping. Hellmos had asked many questions, which was the only reason why it took a while.

Gloria was still flying beside Hellmos while everyone else was several feet behind them. They were having their own conversation.

It took another thirty minutes to find Timaeus's lair. It was well hidden among the clouds, which cloaked the entrance. But thanks to Hellmos's sharp eye, they found it. Hellmos, Gloria, Duke, and Drake landed in front of the entrance of the cavern. They all walked cautiously inside, not wanting to surprise the powerful dragon. But they didn't get far before a loud growl erupted from the darkness. Suddenly a big black shadow towered before Gloria and the others. The thing growled again, more furiously than before. But Hellmos took the lead and yelled, "They come in peace my brother. We are not your enemies."

The shadow figure slowly came out. This dragon was just as massive as Hellmos. He was a turquoise color and he had five grayish claws, segmented horns, a single light greenish spike protruding from both sides of his mouth and pointing down, frills on the side of his head, a muscular body, and a thin scar on his right eye. He had blue eyes, a light greenish blue underbelly as well as wing membrane, grayish spikes running down his back, and a very, very long tail. He spoke in a heroic-like voice.

"Ah Hellmos…I haven't seen you in decades," the dragon said.

Duke, Gloria, and the others just wondered exactly how old the two dragons were. "Likewise Timaeus," Hellmos said. "Brother, these young warriors are here to ask for your help. I have already decided to join them in their fight against an ancient vampire by the name of Tichondrius. They also need help to save their kidnapped friend, Melissa. Now they want you to ally up with them to help. They have already gotten the help of the other metallic dragons. Now they need me, you, and Critias."

Timaeus thought for a few seconds and answered, "I will join this fight to help save their friend and rid the world of this evil."

"We thank you for joining us," Gloria said. "We need all the help we can get."

Timaeus nodded with a smile. "Now if it is Critias you seek, Hellmos and I can lead you to him. He is not that far from here. Let us take leave now."

Everyone agreed and they all left quickly, heading for the last of the legendary dragons.

* * *

The journey for Critias didn't take as long as it did to find Hellmos and Timaeus. The last dragon resided in a cavern deep within a big cliff. The entrance was indeed very well hidden. But because of Timaeus's and Hellmos's help, they were able to find it quickly. The cave smelled of ozone, the familiar scent of electricity. Hellmos and Timaeus lead the way. Everyone else stayed behind, apprehensive of this. The cave got darker as they went farther, forcing Duke to activate a spell that would keep a small ember burning in the darkness. He wondered how anyone, even a dragon, could see in this darkness.

Eventually the smell of ozone turned to pure metal. They did not understand why the scent of metal was so strong. But Timaeus seemed to know. "Our brother's cave is covered in different kinds of metal that can conduct electricity. He uses that to restore his energy when needed."

The scent of metal got so strong Gloria and Caitlin thought they would faint. The smell sickened Duke but it didn't seem to affect James or Leon for some odd reason. Hellmos and Timaeus also showed no sign of being sickened by the smell of pure metal.

Finally after what felt like an hour of walking, the group reached the heart of the cliff. The area was big and blanketed with different metals. Then suddenly in the darkness a loud and angry growl frightened everyone. White eyes suddenly appeared from nowhere, staring angrily at the intruders. "Who dares intrude into my territory??" it asked.

"We come in peace my brother. It is I, Timaeus," Timaeus began.

"And I, Hellmos," Hellmos finished.

The eyes turned from anger to what seemed like happiness. "Come. Let us go outside. The metals may be creating too strong of a scent in here," it said.

Gloria knew that this was the last of the legendary dragons, Critias. Finally their mission for the three dragon rulers was over. They all walked to the entrance again and finally Critias revealed himself. The massive dragon had navy blue scales with a light blue underbelly. He had five blue claws on his hands and feet., a single blue spike on both knees, a muscular body, big scales running down his back that overlapped each other and were sticking out, eyes with a purple iris, a blue orb on the top of his head, and a blue spike on both sides of his mouth that stuck out of his jaws and pointed down. He had yellow wing membrane, had a crest split into three spikes evenly spread out, and finally his tail was split into three more spikes that curved back and then forward.

Critias seemed to be perplexed by the presence of Gloria and her group. "And who are these young humans?" Critias asked, eying Gloria, Caitlin, Leon, and James oddly. Then he looked at Duke and Drake. "And these dragons?"

"These so-called 'humans' are Gloria, Leon, James, and Caitlin. They are not humans. From what I've been told, Gloria and James are vampires, Leon is a warlock, and Caitlin is a pirate," Hellmos answered. "Duke is a natural dragon but can disguise himself as a human like everyone else. And Drake is an ordinary, yet rare, crystal dragon."

"Well all of you are indeed an odd…group," Critias commented. Never had he seen a group full of different type of creatures.

"Yes…well we're here to ask you something," Gloria said.

"Go on."

"Long story short, we need allies to help us save my friend, who has been kidnapped, and defeat Tichondrius. We want you to help us."

Critias was speechless. "Tichondrius?? How is that great evil awake again?" he demanded.

No one was expecting that outburst. "Tichondrius was awakened by two vampires named Sylan and Velora. He kidnapped our ally, Melissa, and is now using her to attack us. Please, can you help us?" Duke finally pleaded.

"I don't know if I can fight him again," the great dragon uttered.

"What? You fought him before??" Gloria and Duke asked at the same time.

"Indeed. I was one of Darlantan's allies. He was a mighty dragon and together we trapped Tichondrius in that place. But Darlantan died helping me. I survived that day. I always thought Tichondrius would remain in his prison, never to come out and cause harm again. But I was obviously wrong," Critias explained. "I will help you. I will help you kill Tichondrius and save your friend."

Gloria and the others were happy. The only other dragon that fought Tichondrius would help them kill him this time. "Good decision my brother," Timaeus said. "Now, we must head back to Aru'gorez to talk to the metallic dragons of this war."

"They already know of our plight," Leon said. "But it may be best for you to return there anyway to tell your metallic dragons of your involvement in this war."

The three dragons agreed. So they all took off, flying towards Aru'gorez. Critias wanted to speak with Gloria about what had happened since the awakening of Tichondrius. But this time Duke offered to do so. Gloria didn't seem to want to have to explain it again so she gave him the chance to tell Critias of all the events that had happened so far. The entire group flew back to the home of the metallic dragons.

* * *

It took them about an hour to get back to Aru'gorez. By the time they reached it, the sun began to sink behind the mountains. The metallic dragons cheered at the arrival of their ancient rulers. The dragons wasted no time. They spoke of their departure and of their involvement in the war. The metallic dragons agreed to stay in Aru'gorez as planned before and leave their rulers to their plan. After a little while longer of discussing, Hellmos, Timaeus, Critias, Gloria, Leon, Caitlin, James, Duke, and Drake finally left for home.

* * *

"Where are they?" Johnny muttered to himself.

Johnny, Jessica, Ashley, and Orlando were wondering why Gloria, James, and everyone else were taking so long. They didn't think it would take that long for them to find the dragons and bring them to the base.

Then the sound of massive wings echoed throughout the entire area. The Guardians raised their heads. Xalahk, Zerahk, Rorahk, and Onurahk also raised their heads to the noise. The werewolves' ears went up and they growled at the scent of dragon. Seerahk, Metruzahk, and the magicians were resting at the moment inside the base and were oblivious to the noise.

In the horizon, everyone saw massive black shapes heading towards the base. They all got ready, prepared to fight if needed. But when they saw their friends, they relaxed. The massive dragons were a surprise to them, but at least their friends were ok.

They landed in front of them. Duke transformed back into human and the others got off the colossal red dragon's back. Ashley, Orlando, Johnny, and Jessica ran to them, happy to know that they were ok. "Finally! What took so long?!" Ashley wondered.

"It's a very long story. For now, I wanna sleep," Gloria said.

"Whoa…..these guys are huge…" Orlando observed, looking up at the three colossal dragons.

Timaeus smiled at the compliment and answered, "I am Timaeus and these are Hellmos and Critias. We are new allies for your army."

"Wow….this is cool," commented Jessica.

"So…how are you guys supposed to fit in here?" Johnny asked.

"We can transform into our own human forms. We too have sorcery as all dragons do," Critias said.

"Duh…" Caitlin said. It was meant for Johnny.

The three dragons transformed into their much smaller human forms. They had armor, which was the color of their scales, and capes, the same color. Their swords were long and sharp. Their eyes were the same color as when they were dragons. There were very few differences. Timaeus's right eye was permanently closed and his scar still covered his eye. All three of them were about 5'10 and their hair was brown.

The three dragon knights were led to the entrance of the base and lead to where they could rest. Everyone else was tired so they left the long story about their journey for tomorrow. The Guardians, the Vahki, and the werewolves returned to guarding the area and resting where they were.


	20. First Kill

Chapter XIX: First Kill

Two days later…

Melissa flew silently as she flew to her next destination. This time she had to find monsters known as Spidermen, ugly monsters with the bodies of spider but the arms and legs of a human. It also stood in an upright position. They were agile and dangerous, which was why Tichondrius wanted them.

In the past two days, two new allies had come up. The evil dragons came first. They came because they wanted to kill all of good as well as get revenge for the death of a red named Fysera. She listened in amazement as they told the story about Fysera's death which was caused by the silver named Duke. They didn't know how she had died but it had been horrible because she was just ripped to shreds beyond recognition by a powerful attack. She didn't know exactly how they knew it was Duke, but she was proud of him for killing a powerful beast. After all, he had never faced another dragon before until now.

Then the next day, evil vampires asked to join Tichondrius's army. Of course, he allowed them to join. Melissa did not like these vampires. They gave vampires a bad name. They were cruel, rude, disgusting, and most of all…stupid. She swore in the name of the gods that some of them could win an award for being the most stupid creature on Earth, but hell if Tichondrius cared. He was just greedy for monsters.

So she was finally given a mission today. But this time she wasn't alone. She was forced to work with Velora, a vampire she hated as much as Tichondrius. She saw Velora as a bitch, like many others. She was cruel, rude, annoying, and smart (as much as Melissa hated to admit it). She was sure Velora didn't like her either.

Melissa didn't know why Tichondrius paired them up, but she didn't complain about it.

So the two flew in silence towards their destination.

In the past two days, the World's Guardians and their allies were only able to find one species of creature to join. They were called winged Slythers. These creatures had a snake-like body, mandibles with sharp curved teeth, muscular arms with a single deadly blade instead of claws, big curved spikes running down their back, wings with no wing membrane, a long pointy crest, glowing red eyes, black scales, and finally spikes that curved forward and back. They were agile, strong, and very intelligent.

Now they had a new ally to get. These monsters were called Hellknights and they could only be found in a fiery place where nothing could live there except them. They are powerful creatures with the power of fire.

Gloria decided to go again but this time she took Xalahk, Jessica, and Ashley as well as Leon and Duke again. The two men wanted to come again so Gloria allowed them to.

Ashley and Gloria were flying beside Duke, who was carrying everyone else, as they flew to their destination.

Velora and Melissa had been flying for nearly an hour when Melissa caught a familiar scent in the air. She smelled an approaching silver dragon as well as two vampires and a few humans (Or at least she thought they were human, although she suspected it was just a disguise). Her heart began to race. She knew right off the back that it was her own friends, yet again in her path. She knew they weren't getting the Spidermen because the beasts were evil, but she knew they were getting some kind of ally.

What would make their confrontation worse was the fact that Velora was here. And Velora was a bitch to fight. She had many powerful dark spells that actually surpassed those known by Gloria and Ashley.

Velora caught the scent. Now it was an inevitable fight. "Ah…these must be those monsters that are bothering the Master," she said. She grinned at Melissa. "It's time to get rid of them once and for all."

Melissa gasped and without another word, Velora swiftly headed to wherever Melissa's friends were. She became extremely worried and angry. She had to end this fight quickly. She swiftly flew to where her friends were at, ready to fight to the death.

Duke smelled something in the air. "Guys, we've got company," he announced.

"Shit…is it Melissa?" Gloria asked.

"No. We're dealing with a full vampire," Duke answered.

"Oh, then there's nothing to worry about," Ashley said.

"I have a bad feeling about this vampire. I don't think it's a good one," said the silver.

"Then let's be on guard," Leon said.

But before they could do anything, Leon was slashed on his back. He screamed in pain as blood seeped from the three gash marks on his back. Before Jessica could even heal him, she too was slashed but on her arm. She placed her hand over the wounds. Blood trickled down her arm.

Duke roared in rage and looked for the danger. Xalahk, Gloria, and Ashley stayed alert. Ashley healed Leon and Jessica quickly. Leon and Jessica transformed into witch and warlock. Leon summoned a Dracon Stalker named Jhevorak. A Dracon Stalker was a breed of hellhound. A thick armor-like beige, scaly skull protected the beast's head above the lower jaw. It had scaly spikes at the end.. It had soft black hair on its chest, back, chin, the end of the tail and at the top of it, and on its elbows and feet. It had two hard black claws on each foot that looked like sharp hooves, a deep chest, and a muscular body. Finally, it had no eyes and on its left side it had a black dragon insignia. Dracon Stalkers were faster and stronger than ordinary hellhounds and possessed fire and dark powers.

Jhevorak sniffed the air and also caught the scent of a vampire. But it could not find it. No one could. Then a scream of pain echoed in the land. Duke had been slashed on his side, neck, and wings. He was slowly losing altitude. "Guys, you have to get off. Fight on the ground or something," he suggested.

Everyone got off of his back as the silver landed on the ground. Everyone was still looking for the danger when yet again, another scream of pain echoed. This time it was Ashley and finally they saw their enemy. It was a white vampire that was attacking them. She was slashing Ashley's back and tearing her wings. Xalahk saw his chance. He leaped and was able to grab the vampire's waist with his pincer-like weapons. The white one screeched in pain, got off Ashley's back, flew into the air, and slashed Xalahk's arm. Despite the pain, he held on. Everyone else saw their chance. Leon unleashed Jhevorak, who leaped into the air and was able to land on the vampire's chest. She fell from the sky with Xalahk and Jhevorak holding on. Ashley shot an orb of darkness at the vampire while Gloria spat deadly dark flames at the vampire. Duke fired his own fire. An explosion shook the earth, but when the smoke clear the white vampire appeared and flew into the sky. She didn't seem hurt at all! Xalahk and Jhevorak were on the ground, injured. Somehow the vampire had deflected the combined attacks so that it could hit the red Vahki leader and the Dracon Stalker.

The vampire flew into the sky and said something. Suddenly black comets of darkness appeared behind the vampire, who then fired them. It blasted Ashley repeatedly. She fell from the sky in a ball of smoke. Jessica yelled, "Duebr hoylkr!"

Suddenly a storm of fire rained down on the white vampire. But before she was even hit she said something and suddenly the fire storm just stopped. Before Jessica could do anything, the vampire blasted her with a fury of dark orbs. She was blasted repeatedly. Leon growled in frustration and yelled, "Garjzla!"

The winds suddenly grew as strong as that of a tornado. The vampire could not stay in the sky. The wind knocked her from the sky and she crashed into the ground. Leon killed the wind to do his own attack. He jumped up high and held his hands out. He fired a giant sphere of dark energy at the vampire. It caused a large explosion.

Unbeknownst to Leon, the vampire had, yet again, escaped. She flew high into the sky and clung onto Leon's back. She slashed him, shredding into his flesh. He screamed in pain and activated a spell to surround himself with fire. Finally, the vampire was hurt by his spell. He ignored the bleeding and pain and once again, held his hands out to fire another sphere of dark energy. This time it was a direct hit.

The fireball exploded on contact. She screeched in pain. She fell from the sky, finally greatly injured from the two fire spells. Leon leaped high into the sky and again held his hands out, firing a fury of fiery fireballs. It caused numerous explosions on the vampire. Smoke concealed her and pretty much blinded Leon. The smoke was very thick, limiting his area of vision. He had landed on a nearby small cliff and was now looking for any other sign of danger.

Suddenly he felt yet another blast of pain but this time on his chest. He groaned loudly and placed his hand on his bloody chest. He noticed five long ragged gashes running diagonal on his chest. Then he felt another wave of pain. Yet again, it came from his back. He knew it was the vampire. The damn thing was becoming very frustrating. Leon began to feel rage and a very powerful hatred towards the vampire.

Suddenly something heavy fell on his chest. He yelled in agony as the vampire continuously slashed him. Then they both heard a very loud growl that came from Leon's right. For a few seconds, both the white vampire and Leon stopped struggling against each other. Out of nowhere, a black shadow jumped and shoved the vampire off.

Now with the weight off of him, Leon got up to see who had saved him. He held his hand out to see if he could at least grab on to his ally. He felt a very hard scaly head and almost immediately knew who had come to his aid.

Jhevorak allowed Leon to place his hand on the beast's head. Then it roared in anger and went after its master's enemy. It leaped onto the vampire's back and began to slash it with its own claws. The vampire screeched in pain and tried to get the beast off. But its curved hoof-like claws dug deep into her skin as it held on.

A powerful gust of wind suddenly blew the smoke away, which was still pretty thick. Leon realized that Jessica had used a wind spell to remove the smoke and clear the sky. Jessica ran to Leon, whom collapsed on the ground on his bloody back when he tried to get up.

"Leon!" Jessica yelled when she noticed his numerous wounds. She knelt down beside him and held his head with her left hand while her other hand was already on his chest. She used the healing spell to heal the wounds on his chest. "Leon, you'll be ok. I'll make sure of it," Jessica muttered to him.

Leon groaned in pain as Jessica's hand touched his back so that those could be healed as well. "Jessica, you have to be extremely careful with that vampire," Leon groaned. "That thing is much more powerful than Gloria and Ashley put together."

"We'll be able to defeat her Leon. She's won't be able to defeat all of us."

"Yes she can."

Jessica was surprised with Leon's reply. "Have you already lost hope?"

"I know she can defeat us Jessica. I know she possesses power that surpasses our own. I know that because she has that power, she works for Tichondrius. Please, we have to retreat. We've already lost," said Leon.

Before Jessica could continue, the vampire leaped out of nowhere towards the couple, claws and fangs ready for attack. "Ref'gura!" shouted Jessica, holding her right hand out.

A purple, transparent shield of darkness covered Jessica and Leon, protecting them momentarily. The vampire began attacking, evidently oblivious to the shield.

Then a white pincer-like weapon struck the vampire with an upper cut move. The white vampire was thrown to the air and then a red beast jumped into the air and began hitting her with its white pincer-like weapons. Xalahk had also come to their aid, finally able to fight. Jhevorak also showed up, leaping onto the white vampire and sinking its sharp canines into her flesh. It thrashed its head from side to side, its teeth ripping into the vampire's flesh. Xalahk sank his pincers into her body as well and began slashing and stabbing at her with his weapons.

This was Jessica's chance to help Leon and get out of there. She placed his right arm around her shoulders and gently pushed him up. But Leon removed his arm once he was standing. "I can move on my own, Jess. Don't worry," he said.

While Xalahk and Jhevorak were keeping the vampire busy, Jessica wanted to look for Gloria. She hadn't seen her for some time. Nor had she seen Duke or Ashley. She was worried about them. She wasn't sure if perhaps they were injured and needed help. "Leon, let's look for the others. They might be hurt," she suggested.

"Yeah, that might be a good idea," Leon agreed.

Jhevorak and Xalahk were still doing their worst to the vampire so the couple took the opportunity to look for Duke, Ashley, and Gloria to make sure they were ok.

But suddenly, they heard the beating of massive wings behind them. When they looked behind them, they saw Duke, uninjured. The silver dragon spat a bolt of blue lightning at the vampire. She screeched in pain. Next to Duke was Ashley, also uninjured. She fired a fury of dark orbs at the vampire.

But Gloria did not appear. In fact, Jessica remembered Gloria attacking the vampire only once. Had she been hurt? "Jess, you look for G. I will help the others," Leon demanded.

"You've been hurt enough by the damned vampire. I don't want you to suffer anymore," Jessica argued.

"Jess, please. Just go and find Gloria. I'll be fine."

Jessica sighed worriedly. "Alright. Just be careful and defeat that vampire!"

Leon nodded in reply and ran back to the fight. Jessica began her search for her leader.

The vampire said something and a shield surrounded her. Jhevorak and Xalahk were blown off. Duke's and Ashley's attacks bounced off the shield. The vampire said something else and she was instantly healed. Duke an Ashley growled in frustration and decided to try something new. Ashley landed on Duke's head and both charged up a giant orb of electricity and darkness. Jhevorak and Xalahk tried to attack but the vampire always managed to counterattack. But luckily she was so concentrated on them she was oblivious to the dragon and vampire. Leon seemed to know what was going on and waited where he was. He didn't want to get caught up in the blast. He would warn Xalahk and Jhevorak about the attack when the time was right.

It took about two minutes for Ashley and Duke to charge up their attack and finally they were ready. Leon quickly warned Jhevorak and Xalahk of the upcoming attack and the two beasts quickly took off to where he was. The vampire did not know why they retreated. She thought that they had given up but when she turned around, she realized why that had happened.

Ashley and Duke yelled, "Hiz'drok thundrok diok!" They both fired a beam of darkness and a beam of electricity. The two powerful beams combined to become one mighty one. The vampire wasn't able to act fast enough as the gigantic beam blasted her.

Duke and Ashley shielded their eyes as an explosion followed. It brightened up the area momentarily, blinding everyone. Then the brightness died down and silence settled.

At first Duke and Ashley believed that they had finally killed the vampire. Leon smiled in victory. Xalahk and Jhevorak roared in victory.

But the battle was not yet over.

Suddenly Ashley and Duke were blasted repeatedly from a fury of darkness. They both roared and screeched in pain. They fell from the sky in a ball of smoke and crashed hard on the ground. Jhevorak and Xalahk growled in greater frustration and leaped at the vampire, who somehow escaped the worst from the attack. This vampire was truly a monster to behold. She was able to either dodge or withstand many of their most powerful attacks. And she was not done.

She used a spell to create a big spike of darkness and fired it at Jhevorak. The spike instantly pierced the Dracon Stalker's heart. It roared in pain and fell to the ground on its side, the spike dissipating from its chest. "No! Jhevorak!!" Leon yelled. He glared at the vampire and began running towards her at full speed. Xalahk roared in anger and went after the vampire. She grabbed the red Vahki leader by the throat and threw him against a nearby hill. Then she fired a powerful orb of darkness. It hurt him and also knocked him unconscious. Jhevorak's body disintegrated like burning paper, turning into ashes slowly. Leon took out his dark grim reaper-like weapon, which he called Oblivion. The staff was a dark purple while the scythe blade itself was silver and had the language of a warlock on it. A skull that had segmented horns curved forward and up and a human like appearance was on the top of the staff. Its eyes were burning fire. Half of the staff had a dark purple snake wrapped around it, its jaws open and its sharp fangs sticking out.

He was screaming as he ran towards the vampire. His weapon was ready to strike the vampire when he was close enough. But before that could happen, the vampire held her hand out and shot a force of darkness at him, blasting him several feet away. He was also knocked unconscious.

Duke and Ashley were already unconscious and extremely weakened from their devastating, yet useless, combination attack. They, along with Leon and Xalahk, had been defeated. Only Jessica and Gloria could stop her now.

Velora looked at the dragon, the vampire, the warlock, and the strange red creature. She was satisfied. Although she knew they weren't dead she wanted to be sure to deal with all of them. First she would knock them unconscious and then she would kill them one by one. She still had two more to take care of.

She was glad that Melissa wasn't with her at the moment. _Son of a bitch is a fool. She cares too much for these pathetic creatures. Just wait until I kill them. She won't be able to stop me. Tichondrius will be very happy_, she thought.

She hated Melissa just as much as Melissa hated her. She saw the bitch as just a thorn in her master's side. She saw Melissa as weak and pathetic. She was useless to her master's army. When Tichondrius's army was complete, Velora would kill Melissa herself and get rid of the damned dragon. Until then, she would finally kill the dragon's friends.

Jessica could not find Gloria at all. She had heard a giant explosion along with a loud roar of pain, whom she figured came from Duke. She knew she was running out of time. She wasn't sure if the vampire had already defeated everyone else or if they were going to be able to hold her off for a little while longer. Either way, she had to hurry.

Luckily she saw a white figure on the ground. But it wasn't moving at all. Jessica's heart began to race as she got closer to Gloria's body. When she finally reached the vampire's body, she calmed down. Gloria finally began moving and slowly got up. "Gloria! Thank God you're ok! What happened?" Jessica wondered.

"That damn vampire somehow knocked me out," Gloria explained. "I've been out for some time."

"Indeed you have. Gloria, we have to help the others. They may be in danger."

"Shit…where are they?"

"They're over there," Jessica said, pointing to the area where the fight was taking place. "We have to get there now!"

"Not so fast!" someone yelled.

Suddenly someone grabbed Jessica by the neck. The witch struggled to breathe but to no avail. The white vampire that the others were supposed to have kept busy was choking Jessica.

Gloria was tired of the white vampire. She had had enough. She screeched loudly and was about to attack when the enemy vampire dug her claws into Gloria's chest and threw her several feet away. She screamed in pain.

The enemy continued chocking Jessica until she also fell unconscious. She threw her against a rock, almost cracking her head open. The enemy vampire lost interest in Jessica and then walked towards Gloria. Gloria tried to attack again with her claws on her hands, but the enemy grabbed her arms, twisted them, and threw her against another nearby rock. Then the vampire fired several more orbs of darkness. They all exploded on contact. Gloria screamed in pain. Then the enemy vampire grabbed Gloria by the neck and slashed her face. Gloria groaned in pain. The white vampire forced Gloria to return to her human disguise. "So…you must be the leader of this pathetic group," the white vampire said.

"Why does it matter to you?" Gloria inquired angrily. "And who the fuck are you?!"

"I am Velora, loyal warrior to the great Tichondrius," the enemy said, finally revealing her identity.

"You son of a bitch! You were the one who helped kidnap my friend!!" Gloria yelled in rage.

Velora laughed maniacally. "It wasn't exactly me who kidnapped that bitch. But still, I did help Tichondrius think of that great plan."

Rage burned inside Gloria. She wanted to hurt Velora for kidnapping Melissa, even though she hadn't done it herself. Chances were that she also hurt Melissa during her stay with Tichondrius.

"I'll make sure that I kill you and give your dead body to Melissa as a trophy," Velora said. "I'm sure she'll love it."

Gloria growled in anger and tried to say a spell but Velora began choking her too. Gloria was just helpless. She was weakened, angry, and just plain out helpless.

Velora laughed loudly as she watched the girl struggle for air. She would also knock the girl unconscious but was going to actually skin her alive. She wanted to give her master a trophy for her success of killing Melissa's friends. Once she was done with the leader, she would take care of the others, collecting various trophies from them all.

She continued chocking the girl when suddenly something crashed into her. She wasn't able to hold onto the girl's neck. The sudden bash move knocked her several feet away. She got up to see what had hit her and couldn't believe her eyes.

Gloria struggled for breath as Velora continued to choke her. She thought she was going to become unconscious when suddenly something bashed into Velora, finally releasing Gloria from the vampire's grip. She took in a gasp of air.

She looked behind her to look at her savior and couldn't believe who it was. Her savior slowly got up from kneeling down. It stood nearly 6'10 and it had brown scales, black claws, large wings, a tail ending with two scythe-like blade bones, and a muscular body. Gloria gasped at the sight of the creature.

"You! How dare you interfere with my fight! You're not supposed to be doing this!" Velora suddenly yelled.

"Yeah well, I'm not about to allow you to kill Gloria. If I have to die to allow her to live, then so be it!!" Melissa yelled in rage. She roared and spread her wings to its full length.

"You will pay for this!!" Velora yelled.

She fired a fury of dark orbs at Gloria and Melissa. Melissa growled in anger and suddenly stood in front of Gloria. She covered Gloria with her big wings and said something.

The dark orbs exploded on contact. Velora continued firing more and more orbs of darkness to weaken and hopefully kill Melissa easily. She was in rage for the dragon's interference. She couldn't wait to tell Tichondrius of her betrayal so that her master could torture Melissa as he had done before.

Gloria had tried to shield herself from the oncoming attack. But when she looked at her surroundings, she found herself shielded with Melissa's large wings. She looked up at Melissa, which was the closest she had ever gotten to her friend after she was kidnapped.

"Hey G," Melissa greeted with a smile as if it were just another day.

Gloria almost wanted to hug Melissa in happiness. For just a moment, she thought that they were at home, hanging out as they always did, without a care in the world.

She got rid of the image from her mind and said, "Thank you Melissa for saving me but…I thought you were on Tichondrius's side. I thought you'd be helping Velora."

"Just because I'm with Tichondrius doesn't mean I've been corrupted by him. I should be helping Velora but I couldn't allow her to kill you guys. So I had no choice but to betray her and save you guys," Melissa explained.

"But won't Tichondrius find out?"

"Most likely. But I know he'll want to hurt me more than hurt you guys. But enough talk. I can explain things later. Please, help Duke, Ashley, Jessica, Leon, and Xalahk."

"But—"

"Don't worry about me. I have much more power than you guys have. I can defeat Velora alone."

Finally the orbs stopped. Melissa spread her wings again and faced Velora again. The vampire growled in frustration. Melissa took a quick peek behind her and ordered, "Go! Help the others! I will handle this!!"

Gloria hesitantly got up and first headed towards Jessica. Velora was about to attack her when Melissa suddenly stabbed the vampire in the stomach with her scythe blade tail. She threw her against a small cliff several feet away.

Gloria placed Jessica's arm around her shoulders and helped her up. Jessica's limp body leaned against Gloria as she tried to quickly get her to a safer place. She looked back and was astonished with what Melissa was able to do in less than five minutes.

Melissa stabbed the vampire again and threw her into the air. Then she spat a fury of blue lighting that exploded on contact. She then used her tail like a sword. She smacked Velora with her tail continuously like a wheel and then after several seconds, grabbed the vampire by the neck and threw her towards the ground. Then she was able to place her feet on Velora, breathe a stream of hellish fire, and then jumped off her body, doing a back flip in the air and finally landing on her feet. Her knees were bent low to the ground, almost as if she were kneeling, so to help her stop quickly on the ground.

_Wow_, Gloria thought. _She really has gotten more powerful since joining Tichondrius. I guess that could be a good thing in a way_.

Taking her eyes off the battle, she continued moving along with Jessica to where the others were. She heard a roar of pain behind her but did not look back. She had to get to the others as quickly as possible.

Melissa placed her hand on her chest, where she was slashed. She glared at Velora. "I'm going to kill you for betraying the great Tichondrius!!" Velora yelled.

"Then bring it on, you fucking bitch!!" Melissa cursed.

Velora snarled loudly and leaped on to Melissa. She slashed at her face and this time sank her fangs into Melissa's thickly muscled neck. She began to suck her blood. By doing so, she was literally sucking out the dragon's energy and using it as her own. But Melissa was not about to allow the vampire to do so. She grabbed Velora's neck and threw her off. Velora's fangs were still in Melissa's neck when she threw her off; therefore, her fangs caused very, very deep gashes on her neck. Melissa snarled in pain and was about to heal herself when Velora fired a few orbs of darkness at her, which exploded on contact as always.

Smoke concealed Melissa as she quickly healed herself using a giant orb of blue electricity which surrounded her. Then she spread her wings, jumped into the air, and spat a stream of fire at Velora, whom screamed in pain and fell in a ball of fire. Melissa quickly flew down to the ground, ready to continue her fight against Velora. She also had to keep Velora away from Gloria and the rest of her friends so that they could escape.

Gloria finally reached the place where Duke, Ashley, Leon, and Xalahk were, injured and unconscious. Also at that moment, Jessica at last awoke. She groaned in pain from the injury on the back of her head. "Jessica! You're finally awake!" Gloria shouted in happiness.

"I'm glad to know you're ok as well," Jessica groaned. "But…what happened? My head hurts like hell."

Gloria looked at the back of Jessica's head and saw the gash caused by the rock. Thankfully, her head didn't crack open. "You're hurt but I can heal you," Gloria said. "Wáise heïll!"

In a few seconds the gash was gone. "Thanks," said Jessica.

"No problem. C'mon, let's help the others," Gloria suggested.

"Wait. What about Velora? Did you defeat her?"

"No."

"Then…where did she go?"

Gloria pointed to the east. When Jessica looked there, she couldn't believe her eyes.

Melissa circled around Velora in the air. Velora did the same. Then suddenly they flew towards each other rapidly. They both instantly began slashing at each other's face, chest, abdomen, and wings. Melissa sank her large canines into Velora's shoulder. She retaliated by digging her claws deep into the dragon's flesh. As painful as it was, she held on.

Then Velora went for Melissa's wings. She used the claws of her feet to slash the dragon's wing membrane. Melissa used her tail to slash Velora's wings as well. If she was going to fall from the sky, then Velora would fall with her.

With their wings damaged, the two beasts began to fall to the ground. Even so, they slashed and bit at each other. Finally, Melissa pushed herself off of the vampire and transformed into her silver dragons form. Surprised by this, Velora did not do anything to stop her fall. But before she reached the ground, Melissa wrapped her long tail around the vampire's body and threw her towards a cliff. She smacked into it very hard. Melissa turned to her normal form. She finally fired a fury of blue lightning at Velora, causing explosions to rock the earth. The explosions caused the cliff to break apart and fall. Melissa grinned in triumph and quickly flew towards the cliff.

"I thought she couldn't help us," Jessica muttered.

"I thought the same, but she said she wasn't going to allow Velora to kill us," Gloria explained. "But it doesn't matter. While she keeps Velora busy, we have to help the others."

Jessica nodded in reply and both girls split up to help the others. Jessica ran to Leon and Xalahk. Xalahk was injured and unconscious. Leon seemed to have been burned by another attack. Jessica ran to him and healed him. She held Leon near her and tried to wake him up. But he wouldn't wake up. "C'mon Leon, wake up," Jessica whispered, worried about him.

Leon still remained unconscious. Jessica placed her ear on his chest and could hear his heart beating, which calmed her nerves a bit. "Leon, please wake up," Jessica uttered again.

Finally, Leon's eyes opened. Jessica let out a loud sigh of relief. Leon slowly got up and asked, "Jessica, what happened?"

"You were attacked by Velora and evidently knocked out by the attack. Thank God, she didn't finish you off."

"I'm just glad to know you're ok. Did you kill Velora?"

"No."

"Then what happened to her?"

Jessica let out a deep breath and answered, "Melissa's fighting her."

"What?" Leon voiced in shock.

Melissa slowly approached the giant pile of rocks cautiously. She already knew that Velora wasn't killed by the collapse of the cliff. She didn't want to be caught surprised.

She was only a few feet away when suddenly the rocks flew into the air. Velora popped out from the pile of rocks and jumped into the air. She spread her damaged wings and suddenly a dark thing erupted from her body, creating another creature of pure darkness. It flew towards Melissa and bashed into her, sending her several feet away. The creature then breathed a stream of dark energy, burning her. She cried in anguish and finally shot a few orbs of ice at the dark creature. It was instantly frozen. Melissa swung her tail at the frozen creature, shattering it like glass.

Then Melissa felt something heavy land on her back and a wave of great pain. She roared and tried to get the thing off her back. Velora clawed at her shoulders and ripped her waist and back to shreds. She also sank her fangs into Melissa's neck again and tore at her wings to prevent her from flying again. Melissa roared loudly in pain and suddenly said, "Ikañova sökl!"

Suddenly several blades erupted from Melissa's back, stabbing Velora in various places. She screeched and quickly got off her enemy's back. She quickly teleported to the very top of the already damaged cliff. Melissa looked fiercely at her. "You want to kill me?" Velora asked, trying to annoy Melissa further. "Then come up here and get me!"

Melissa growled in anger and leaped onto the cliff, using her claws to help her climb up to the top. Velora's energy sucking technique had weakened her and she did not have the energy left to heal all her wounds. She took care of the worst wounds with her remaining energy.

She slowly made her way to the top, eager to finish the fight.

Ashley had awakened finally after a few minutes soon after Gloria healed her. Ashley's energy had decreased drastically from the combined attack and even after being healed, her energy was not restored.

"It's about time you wake up Ash," Gloria said.

"Ugh…what happened?" Ashley wondered, dazed.

"The attack you did with Duke weakened you and Velora's attack knocked you unconscious. But you're ok now," Gloria reassured her.

"Where's Velora?"

"Don't worry. She's being taken care of as we speak."

"By who?"

"Melissa herself."

"What? But—"

"I can explain everything later. We have to get Duke to wake up and then we have to help Melissa."

Ashley nodded. She returned to normal and ran with Gloria as she ran to Duke. Jessica was still taking care of Xalahk but Leon was already ok.

The silver dragon was on his side and still unconscious. Gloria healed him and began to try and wake him up. Jessica finally got Xalahk to wake up after nearly ten minutes. He was also dazed but ok.

Thankfully, it only took about three minutes for Duke to regain consciousness. He was dazed and felt a little dizzy but was ok. "Gloria, I'm glad to know you're alright," he said.

"Likewise," Gloria replied. "But there is no time for talk. We have to deal with Velora for good."

"Wait…you mean you haven't killed her yet?"

"Nope. Melissa is fighting her right now."

"What??"

"You heard me Duke. Melissa is helping us by fighting Velora. But I have no time to explain."

"We have to help her!"

"I know. We're going right now."

Duke quickly got up after returning to normal. "C'mon you guys, we have a debt to repay," announced Gloria, exhausted from all the energy she had used for healing her friends.

Everyone got up and prepared themselves for the upcoming fight. They got to the top of the nearby hill and looked out to where the fight was taking place.

Melissa finally reached the top of the cliff. She was exhausted, in pain, and weak. She wasn't sure how much longer she could last. Perhaps Velora truly was stronger than Melissa herself…?

She took in several deep breaths before searching for Velora. But she could not find her. She feared the worst. Velora could've gotten away and fled to Tichondrius's fortress. The pathetic coward would use Tichondrius or even get Sylan to help her fight Melissa. And Sylan was also a bitch to fight. With Velora and Sylan together, she would be overwhelmed and most likely killed by the two evil vampires.

But something told her that Velora was still around. Where the vampire was hiding was beyond her, but she had to find her and kill her before she could escape to the fortress. But she couldn't find her.

Suddenly there was a burst of pain on her back again. The vampire was on her back again, ripping into her flesh with her cruel claws. Melissa was becoming angered by this. She growled in frustration and roared loudly. Then she stabbed the vampire in the back with her scythe bone blades. Velora screeched loudly and tried to hang on as Melissa tried to pull her off. "Get off of me!!" she roared.

She pulled Velora off and slammed her on the ground. Then she grabbed Velora's neck with her right hand and sank her own teeth into her neck. Velora screeched loudly and dug her claws into Melissa's face. But that didn't stop her. She slowly sucked Velora's energy out, transferring it back into her own body. When she was done, she threw Velora several feet away and yelled loudly, "It's time to finish this, you son of a bitch!!"

"Shit! We have to go now!" Gloria yelled. "Let's move!"

Everyone transformed into something that could either fly or move very fast. Together, Gloria, Xalahk, Duke, Leon, Jessica, and Ashley headed to the cliff.

Melissa grabbed Velora again and threw her again. Then she quickly ran towards her and slammed hard into her. She crashed into the ground, sliding several feet. She finally stopped about five feet away from the very edge of the cliff. She suffered serious scrapes on her right side and back.

She abruptly disappeared right before Melissa could grab her again. _Where'd she go this time?_

Subsequently, she was hit with many dark orbs. She roared loudly in pain. Velora head butt Melissa, sending her several feet away. She hit the ground hard and her back was scraped by the rough ground just like with Velora. Before the vampire could do anything, Melissa fired a beam of electricity, blasting Velora away. The dragon got up, still wounded and bleeding. She healed herself, only repairing the most serious wounds. She had to save her remaining energy to fight Velora.

Velora repaired her wings, leaped into the air, and fired her own beam of electricity, but instead of blue like Melissa's, it was a dark purple.

Melissa was not affected by the electricity itself, but she was still hit by the force of the beam. The blast exploded on the cliff, breaking it further. More giant pieces of rock fell, crashing into the earth down at the bottom.

Velora then blasted Melissa with another storm of dark spheres and soon after, a stream of dark fire. Finally, she blasted the dragon with a combination of fire and dark spheres. An explosion shook the area like an earthquake. When the smoke cleared, Velora could see Melissa, greatly wounded and covered in serious burns. She looked extremely weak.

Velora landed on the ground and walked up to the dragon. Her body was damaged beyond repair. She groaned in agony and couldn't get up. Velora kicked her hard on her left side, causing Melissa to moan loudly in pain. Velora grinned in triumph.

But then Melissa made a last ditch effort to hurt the vampire. She stabbed her yet again on her abdomen and threw Velora over the edge of the cliff. The vampire quickly spread her wings and grabbed Melissa's tail to bring her to the edge. The dragon quickly dug her claws into the rocky cliff, barely hanging on to the edge.

Velora let go and landed on the top of the cliff again. She looked at Melissa, whom was still hanging onto the very edge, with a big, sinister smile. Melissa tried to push herself up, but was very weakened by Velora's attack. Without warning, Velora knelt down and sunk her claws into Melissa's hands. She roared in pain but knew there was nothing she could do.

Velora looked at Melissa straight in the eye. She could see the determination and courage in the dragon's eyes. _Very brave, smart, and strong…I'll give her that. But she still is a pathetic excuse for a dragon, _she thought.

She stared at Melissa for a few more seconds before finally saying, "Well it seems like the 'almighty' Melissa couldn't even defeat me. I told you you'll pay for betraying our great master. You could've wielded an awesome power and yet you give it all up to protect your stupid friends. Pathetic."

"My friends are not stupid or pathetic. They can be just as powerful as me. You can kill me now Velora. It doesn't matter. But my friends will kill you. They are indeed a group to behold. They've defeated monsters just as powerful as you. And they can do it again. So you'd better watch out. Because they will make sure you pay for trying to take over Earth," said Melissa.

"Bold words, dragon. But not even your friends will be able to defeat me. Nothing can defeat the awesome might of Tichondrius. I'll make sure your friends suffer for fighting our master. So, dragon, any last words?"

"Yeah. You're going to die soon, you dumbass son of a bitch!"

Melissa stabbed Velora for the final time on her back. Velora groaned in pain and quickly removed her claws from Melissa's hands. At last, she fell from the edge of the cliff, unable to do anything to save herself because of the lack of energy. She closed her eyes, ready to embrace death if it truly was her time to go…for good.

All of them could see Velora push Melissa off the edge of the cliff. Now she was falling towards the ground. "No! Melissa!" Duke yelled loudly.

He quickly flew towards her, trying to reach her before she could hit the ground. The others also struggled to hurry. But before they could reach her, Velora flew in front of them. "Get out of the way, you bitch!!" Duke yelled.

"It's already too late!" Velora yelled. She laughed maniacally.

Gloria had had enough. As fast as a bolt of lightning, she was on Velora, slashing repeatedly at her face, chest, and wings. Duke took this chance to hurry to save Melissa. But it truly was too late. When he looked at the ground, Melissa was already lying there, motionless. Duke's eyes began to water and rage built up in him. Out of the blue, his rage exploded within him and he roared loudly, enough to shake the entire area. His eyes turned red and fire erupted from his nostrils. Gloria looked at the ground and also saw her friend. Rage like she had never felt before also exploded within her. She faced Velora and yelled, "That's it! I'll make sure you suffer for doing this!!"

Everyone swiftly attacked Velora before she could even move. Fire, darkness, water, and wind blasted her. A giant explosion was the result of the combination. Everyone enjoyed a brief moment of triumph. But they knew it wasn't over.

And it wasn't. Something suddenly rocketed out of the ball of smoke like a bullet and retaliated with a storm of dark orbs. The orbs blasted Xalahk and Ashley. Xalahk was hit more than Ashley; therefore, he was knocked out almost immediately. He collapsed on the ground when he tried to get up. He did not try a second time. "Xalahk!" Jessica yelled, worried about the Vahki leader.

She glared at Velora, who was injured but not as much as Jessica would've hoped. In frustration, she yelled, "Mirokä novr!"

Then she fired her own storm of dark orbs with her remaining power, exactly like Velora's attack. But Velora had another trick up her sleeve. She mumbled something to herself and was unexpectedly shielded with a purple shield. It deflected the attack and sent it right back at Jessica. Jessica was greatly damaged by the powerful attack. Once again, she collapsed on the ground and did not get up. She had used up the rest of her power to hurt Velora but, like everyone else, did not expect her enemy to reflect it right back at her.

Velora grinned in triumph but it was short-lived as Leon leaped high into the air (with the help of a spell) and gathered up his energy, firing a beam of water from behind. Velora was blown away from the water, crashing into the nearby cliff. Leon took this chance to also add in another spell. He bellowed, "Slytha!"

But Velora was unaffected by it. She teleported in front of Leon in a heartbeat, giving him no time to defend himself. She slashed his face, kicked him in the stomach which sent him several feet away, and then blasted him with a fury of dark lightning bolts. Leon screamed in pain as he was electrocuted from the dark lightning.

Weakened, Leon fell from the air, landing hard on his back next to Xalahk on the ground. Velora laughed maniacally again, grinning in triumph. But then Ashley landed on Velora's back while Gloria landed on her chest. The two vampires began slashing their enemy with their deadly claws, ripping her flesh into shreds. Velora screeched in pain but Gloria and Ashley continued their attack.

After several minutes of just slashing and slicing, the two vampires got off. But it was soon followed by a spell from Duke, who was still in his dragon form. "Breoal miiutu!" he screamed.

Out of nowhere, a wave made entirely of electricity rose from the ground and headed towards the injured Velora. Not surprisingly, Velora shielded herself from the attack. She deflected the attack right back at Duke but this time, he was prepared. "Torndio de triclisk!"

He, Gloria, and Ashley were surrounded with a tornado also made of blue electricity. It practically sucked in the massive wave of blue electricity, adding to its power. Then Duke transformed the tornado, which protected the three beasts from the spell, into a deadly force. Ashley and Gloria combined their dark power with the tornado, adding even more to its power. Velora did not get a chance to protect herself like she did most of the time. She was hit full force with the mighty tornado of darkness and electricity. She screamed loudly in pain.

After about another minute, the tornado dissipated. Velora was no longer there. "Where'd she go?" Ashley asked.

Gloria growled in frustration. "Son of a bitch escaped again!"

"Gloria, we don't know that. She might've been ripped to shreds from the might of the tornado. It's happened with our power before. You know that," Duke clarified.

"I know that, yes. But I also know Velora has been a serious bitch to fight. She ends up avoiding our attacks, no matter what it is. Yes, she could've been hit with the tornado, but it's also possible that she teleported and healed herself before the tornado even dissipated before our eyes," stated Gloria.

"Fine. We'll check to make sure that she isn't hiding around," suggested Ashley.

But that wasn't what Duke wanted. He wanted to go to where Melissa was. He was still extremely upset and in rage with what Velora had done to her. He did not want to do anything else except go to her and only grieve. For he believed that for sure, Melissa had been killed by Velora as much as he hated to admit it.

However, he had to make sure Velora was dead. He wasn't about to let the bitch get away for not only killing Melissa but for greatly hurting his friends.

"Yes, let's check to be sure," Duke agreed.

They decided to split up and look around the entire area within a radius of 10 miles. Duke headed north, Gloria headed east, and Ashley headed south. They had to first find Velora before they could help their friends.

They quickly scanned everywhere, looking for any sign of the white vampire. Unfortunately Duke found her. He was blasted with a fury of dark orbs. The orbs exploded on his great body, damaging it beyond repair. He roared loudly in agony and fell in a ball of smoke. His wings were burned and shredded; his scales had been burned off by the explosions, and his body was severely damaged. He slammed into the ground and, like everyone else, did not move.

"Duke!" Ashley yelled. She growled in even greater frustration as she was tired of seeing her friends get hurt.

She saw a flash of white and instantly tried to catch up. However, she was also hurt before she could even react to either attack or defend herself. Three very deep gashes appeared on her back and bled profusely. Ashley screeched in pain as she was slashed yet again. Then to finish it off, she was hit with a fury of dark orbs like Duke. She too fell from the sky in a ball of smoke.

Everyone had been defeated. Everyone had been severely injured. Everyone except Gloria; Gloria was the last remaining fighter to remain strong and unharmed…for now.

With anger flaring in her eyes, Gloria roared piercingly with wings spread to its full length. She had had enough. She would either kill Velora once and for all…or die trying.

She felt pain pulsing throughout her entire body. She couldn't move without feeling a wave of agony. She wanted the agony to end.

She could feel the ground rumble from roars and heavy things falling from the sky. She could smell the scent of blood, burnt flesh, and smoke. She could feel that the ground she was lying on was soaked with her blood. She could clearly hear two deadly beasts fighting each other and by the sounds of it, they were fighting to the death.

She was able to open her eyes half-way. When she did, she saw two white vampires in the air, slashing, biting, striking, bashing, and smashing each other with all their power. Somehow, she knew it was Gloria and Velora fighting to the death. She never underestimated Gloria's power and never would, but she knew that not even the powerful vampire could defeat Velora.

She felt a sudden wave of pain surging through her body. She groaned in agony. She could literally feel her heart slowing down as well. She knew she was slipping away.

Her breaths became shallow by the minute and the pain began to dull. Finally, she was going to die and the pain could end. Finally, she would die knowing that she tried all she could to help her friends kill Velora, although she felt guilty for not trying harder. Finally, she would die from fighting the best she could rather than from torture.

She closed her eyes again and literally waited to die. Her heartbeat slowed even further, her breaths shortened, and her pain dulled even more. All she could do was wait for Death to wrap its deadly claws around her and take her down to Hell, where she believed she belonged for all the things she had done to her own friends.

Memories flashed before her eyes of all the good and bad times of her life. When she first met Gloria and the rest of her friends, when she first obtained her powers and became the very deadly beast she was, when she met the love of her life, and so on.

Then everything began to blur. Time seemed to slow down in her eyes. Her breaths became extremely shallow by the second. Darkness began to cover her eyes. She felt that her heart would stop any second.

She could feel herself finally slipping away…finally dying after what felt like hours of pain…finally leaving this earth after guarding it for so long…

_Wake up! You cannot die now!_

She heard a deep, almost heroic voice in her mind. She thought she was losing her mind right before death.

_You are not losing your mind. Today is not your time to die._

She wanted to speak, or thought-speak, with the voice. But she wasn't sure how or if she truly losing her mind. With all her power, she thought about the voice and thought about something to say. _Who are you? _

_I am the one who gave you the great power of electricity. I am the thunder god, Slifer._

She could not believe it. Could she truly be speaking with the god himself? _How can a great god like you be speaking with me? And why?_

_I have powers that you don't even know about. As for why I'm speaking with you, I will not allow a great World Guardian to die like this. This is not acceptable for a powerful being like you. You have to get up and fight!_

_But I can't! I don't have the energy, I don't have the strength, I don't have the will to fight anymore! Velora's power surpasses mine and not even I can defeat her. _

_Yes you can. You do not truly understand the power you hold. You have many powers that have yet to be discovered. You are unique compared to the previous guardians of Earth. Your heart is strong as is your will. Your friends and family keep you strong. You're telling me you're going to give all that up and die like this?_

She could only sigh. _I have no other choice. I can't continue to fight. I've lost too much energy._

_I will give you the energy you need. But there is just one thing I cannot give you even with all my power._

_What?_

_Your will to fight. _

She sighed again. _I guess you're right. But…I just don't have that will._

_Yes you do! I know you do! You cannot allow your friends to die because you simply gave up! You must get up and kill Velora. If you must, release your rage upon that vile vampire. Whatever it takes. But I will not allow you to simply die here._

She suddenly felt new energy surge throughout her body. Her wounds began to heal and she had the strength to fight. But did she have the will to fight?

She looked at the fight between Gloria and Velora. To her horror, she saw Gloria severely injured. She didn't think Gloria could hang on any longer. But nonetheless, she continued the fight. She always knew that Gloria's heart and will were strong and nothing could stop her from achieving an important goal as this.

She sighed loudly again. Her own will to fight had always been strong until this fight. Velora shattered her hope for ever winning the war they were now part of. But Slifer's determination had renewed her hope.

Looking out at the battle, she finally made a decision.

_Are you willing to give up this fight to die pathetically here?_

Melissa finally responded with renewed determination and hope. _No. I will fight Velora and kill her. And I will use all my power to do so._

She could almost feel the god's relief and happiness. _Good. Now…show that vile creature the true power of the dragon and the might of electricity!_

Gloria couldn't take it anymore. She was ready to collapse from exhaustion. She had many gashes on her body and she was literally losing bucketfuls of blood. But surprisingly she still had the energy to fight.

Velora could sense that her enemy's power was weakening. She already knew she would win. She had killed Melissa and defeated the other pathetic creatures that tried to test her power. But of course, Velora was much stronger than all of them. And now she would defeat the last of the group and soon kill them all. Then she would return to Tichondrius and be rewarded for what she did. For now, she had to defeat the last. Velora wanted this fight to end already. She smacked into Gloria, stunning her for a few seconds. Then she began to charge up her dark power.

Gloria was no longer dazed after a few seconds but then she saw Velora's attack being charged up to a massive sphere of darkness. She could only watch in horror as the sphere got bigger and bigger by the minute. She was about to move when she was suddenly wrapped in vines of darkness, preventing her from moving at all. She struggled to get out of the vines' grasp, but to no avail. This time, there was no escape.

Finally after a few minutes, the giant orb of darkness was done charging. Velora yelled, "I have waited for a long time to meet you and kill you. Finally, I will kill you and the rest of your team and your pathetic group will no longer exist. And soon my master will control this earth and make it his own kingdom. Soon, only darkness will exist!"

Gloria knew Velora would have to still deal with the others. "That's what you think Velora. But there are still others out there who will stop you at all costs."

"Then I'll just hunt them down and make sure they die. Now enough talk. It's time for you to die!"

Gloria could only close her eyes and wait for the attack to hit and kill her. There was nothing she could do. No powerful spell could help her because of her lack of energy.

Velora fired the orb of darkness. The orb moved closer and closer to Gloria at a very high speed. It was getting closer and closer until—

—something black with wings flew in front of Gloria. She could not recognize the beast. But she felt very safe all of a sudden.

The orb hit its target. An explosion shook the earth again. Velora laughed in triumph. Finally she had killed the group against her master. And she would be rewarded greatly. However, she had not noticed the figure that had flown in front of Gloria. The battle was not yet over.

Out of nowhere, Velora heard, "I wouldn't be laughing if I were you."

She was abruptly slammed by someone. She hit the ground hard. She leaped up into the air again and saw who had hit her. "No…it can't be," she whispered.

"It is, you son of a bitch. I'm back and I will make sure you die for what you've done!" exclaimed Melissa angrily.

She spread her hand out and directed a beam of electricity at Gloria. When the beam hit her, Gloria could feel new energy surge into her body. With energy renewed, she freed herself from the vines' grip and joined Melissa. "I'll show you the true power of the World's Guardians!" Melissa yelled.

Melissa said a few words and Gloria could feel a brand new power within her. Out of nowhere, an orb of darkness covered her and an orb of blue electricity covered Melissa. The orbs came together and formed into one giant one. Then it exploded in a brilliant light. Velora shielded her eyes and faced another way when the orbs exploded. When she faced them again, she couldn't believe her eyes.

The vampire Gloria was now human and had massive, powerful, paladin-like dark purple armor all over her body. Insignias covered the armor as well as many deadly blades. She had two dark swords, both sheathed. She was heavily armored.

She was atop a beast who Velora knew was Melissa. She had transformed into a might beast indeed. Not surprisingly, she had become a dragon with blue scales and black claws. She had black horns on the back of her head as well as a big one and smaller one on top of her nose. She had spikes running down her back, on her elbow joints, the sides of her arms, on her bottom jaw, and on the top of her fingers and toes. She had a long black spike on both foot joints as well. The claws at the tips of her wings were like long black needles. Finally she had a well muscled body, deep chest, three black, thick claws on each forefoot and foot, and yellow eyes with a thin black vertical slit like a reptile's eye.

She roared furiously. Velora only looked at the massive beast and her rider in awe. This gave the two friends a chance to attack. Melissa opened her jaws and spat a massive fireball, blasting and burning Velora. She screeched in pain and fell from the sky.

Gloria looked at herself and Melissa in amazement. Never before had this happened before. _You're very surprised about this aren't you?_

She knew it was Melissa's voice but instead of actually hearing it from her own mouth, she heard her voice in her mind. "How are you doing that?" Gloria asked.

_All you gotta do is think about me and think about what you need to say. But you don't have to speak to me like this. To make things easier, just speak like normal,_ Melissa said. _Now enough talk. We have an enemy to kill._

Almost immediately, Melissa leaped into the air. Gloria had to hang on to the black reins of the bridle that was attached around Melissa's powerful jaws, similar to a horse except it was only around her jaws. With a single flap of her massive wings, Melissa flew around Velora and began attacking her with stream after stream of hellish fire. Gloria also helped by firing a fury of dark orbs just as Velora had done to her friends. The combination caused yet another explosion.

Smoke slowly rose into the air. There was no sign of Velora, but Gloria and Melissa did not let their guard down. When the smoke clear, sure enough Velora wasn't on the ground anymore. This time Velora would not be surprising them.

To Gloria's surprise, Melissa activated an electric shield. As fast as it had appeared, it disappeared. Gloria was confused. "Melissa, why activate a shield and then deactivate it?" she asked.

_You really should learn to thought-speak so the enemy doesn't know of our plan_, Melissa said.

"Well you said I could speak like normal," Gloria reminded.

_I know but I just gave it a little more thought. It's best if you to thought-speak to me. Anyway, I activated the shield but I didn't deactivate it. I made it invisible. I know Velora is out there waiting for an opportunity to attack. I'm not about to let her be able to hurt us again. She's already pissed me off as it is._

_Anything will piss you off,_ Gloria thought.

_I heard that_. Melissa shot a quick look at Gloria and gave her a big grin. _I knew you could do it_.

Gloria returned her grin and both instantly went back to looking for Velora. Suddenly something bashed into the invisible shield. Gloria looked to see Velora trying to attack them with her claws and dark powers. She couldn't help but grin at Velora for finally, she wouldn't be able to surprise them. Melissa wrapped her tail around Velora's body and said, "Thikögn hilr!"

An orb that was full of darkness came out of Velora's chest. Melissa only grinned in triumph. Gloria did not know the spell. _Now you won't be able to cast any spells for more than an hour!_ Melissa exclaimed in triumph. _You're screwed._

Gloria could almost sense the anger of the vampire. She knew now that Velora was weak without her spells. Melissa then threw Velora in the air and whacked her with her tail. She slammed into the ground hard. Melissa was soaring and looking down at Velora when Gloria asked, _How can you prevent her from using spells? And why didn't you use it before?_

_To be honest, it just came to my head. I never used that spell before nor did I even know it before until now. Trust me, if I knew it before, I would've used it. Not wait until after everyone is almost dead to use it,_ Melissa replied.

After several more minutes of just waiting for the vampire to make a move, she landed before Velora and inquired, _You ready to show her how strong you are with a deadly blade?_

_Certainly_, Gloria replied.

Melissa grabbed Velora with her right forefoot and threw her high in the air. Gloria leaped off the dragon's back, took out her sword, and did whatever damage she could. She brought her dark sword down on Velora's body and then brought it back up, slashed her from the left, then the right, and then did an aerial spiral.

Melissa was impressed. After the aerial spiral, Gloria landed on Melissa's back. _I'm impressed. I knew you were skilled with a blade but I've never seen that before. That's something you see in either video games or blade masters,_ Melissa commented.

_Thanks, _uttered Gloria. _I train a lot with my sword._

Before Velora could fall back down to earth, Melissa crouched down and pushed her upper body up to grab Velora using her jaws. Then she threw her head back and threw it forward to slam her against the ground. She turned her over with a single black claw and placed her right forefoot on top of Velora's body. She didn't put all her weight into doing so but it was enough for Velora to struggle for air.

She brought her face close enough to Velora for her to be able to feel her hot breath against her face. Melissa snorted in her face and growled. _Are you going to kill her or what?_ Gloria asked.

_No. Not yet anyway, _Melissa replied.

_Why not? Why not just kill her?_

_Because I want to finish her off in a combination attack. Besides I know you have a few things to say to her before she dies._

_I guess you're right. _

_Then go ahead and say how to feel. Just let your rage out._

_But what's the point? She's going to die anyway._

_Goddamn it Gloria, just say what you need to say. She did the same to you and me. Why not do the same to her?_

"Kill me already, dragon," Velora suddenly said after the pressure on her chest was decreased.

_Shut up!_ Melissa yelled in the vampire's mind. A deep growl rumbled deep inside her throat.

"I don't take orders from you, dragon!" the vampire yelled defiantly.

Melissa increased the pressure on Velora's chest with her right forefoot, which was still on her body. _Gloria, say what you need to say before I kill her. _

"Well…look at the so called 'almighty' Velora now. Weak and pathetic without your precious spells," Gloria taunted.

Velora seemed frustrated. "Now…if you want to live, then tell me more about Tichondrius and what he's planning to do," Gloria demanded.

_What? You're going to allow her to live??!_ Melissa demanded.

_No. I'm only saying that to see if she'll talk._ Gloria clarified.

"Don't think that threat will get me to talk. I know what you're planning on doing. I will not betray my master," Velora said.

Melissa's anger intensified. She increased the pressure on the vampire's chest. She groaned in pain and struggled more for air. "Tell me, vampire. Tell me about his plan!" Gloria demanded.

"No," Velora said.

_Son of a bitch!_ Melissa cursed in anger. It was to Velora, not to Gloria. _Forget it G. Let's just kill the bitch and end this. She won't talk._

_Why do I have to interrogate her? Can't you tell me anything?_

_Because I cannot tell you as much as she would be able to. All I know is that he wants to take over the world and get revenge. But I know you guys know that already. I don't know too much, even though I've been with this guy for nearly two months. She, on the other hand, knows much more than I do. But if this pathetic excuse for a vampire won't talk then its best to kill her._

_I guess you're right. You do the honors._

Melissa was only too happy. She grinned and was ready to do her worst. _You might want to close your eyes,_ she warned.

Gloria took her warning seriously. She didn't want to see whatever Melissa was about to do. When her eyes were closed, Melissa said to Velora, _I'm gonna make sure you suffer for all you have done. You've almost killed my friends, you've hurt Reptile in the past and you've nearly killed me. Now, you pathetic bitch, you're going to pay._

"Your threats don't scare me, dragon," Velora said. "You will die in the hands of Tichondrius."

_I know I will die in the hands of that vampire. But at least I'll die knowing that I helped my friends kill you!_

Melissa held Velora down as she grabbed the vampire's left wing with her teeth. "What are you doing??" Velora demanded.

_I'm keeping true to my word. Before we kill you, I'm gonna make you suffer a bit. You deserve it, _Melissa responded.

Then without another word, Melissa mercilessly ripped the vampire's left wing off like it was just paper. The vampire could only scream in agony as the dragon moved on to her right wing. She ripped off the right one as well. A stream of blood gushed from the two wounds. She finally removed her forefoot and, using her jaws, threw the vampire high into the air.

_Ok G, I need you to combine your attack with mine and finish Velora off once and for all,_ Melissa reminded.

Gloria opened her eyes, nodded in reply, and held her hands out to charge up an orb of darkness. Melissa opened her jaws to charge up an orb of electricity. Once the two orbs were charged up fully, Gloria and Melissa yelled in unison, "Helikr de dikr thundagr!"

The two orbs were fired, becoming two beams of electricity and darkness at once. The two beams curled each other and combined to become one massive one. Then the front of the beam shaped itself like a spear head while the rest of it became thin.

The spear of the two elements raced towards Velora like a bullet. The vampire was still in the air and couldn't do anything to save herself. The spell that Melissa had cast on her long ago was still in effect and in ripping her wings off, the dragon also ripped off her arms, since a vampire's wings are attached to their arms. Velora couldn't use spells or fly to save herself. She was screwed.

At last, the spear struck its target. It went through her chest as if she were just paper and came out the other side. It dissipated soon after. Velora screamed a keen shriek of pain. Out of nowhere, she seemed to literally rot before Gloria's and Melissa's eyes. Her skin became an ugly gray and brown and began to fall apart. Then when the skin and flesh had rotted away, the skeleton started becoming dust. The vampire's body disappeared before it touched the ground. Velora was dead at last.

Gloria couldn't help but exhale a sigh of relief. Melissa pushed her upper body into the air again and roared proudly in victory. Gloria could only cheer along with her. _Finally, we did it! _she said to Melissa.

_I'm as happy as you are Gloria, _added Melissa. She dropped down to her fours again. But almost instantly, apprehension filled Gloria's heart. _But wait a minute…isn't Tihondrius going to punish you for this?_ she asked.

Melissa snorted loudly. _Yes. I will get punished for this. But it doesn't matter to me. At least we were able to kill one of his loyal warriors. Now all we have to do is kill Sylan._

Gloria felt very worried about her friend going to be tortured for killing Velora. Melissa could sense it. _G, don't worry about me. You have the others to worry about. As long as he doesn't hurt you or the others, Tichondrius can do whatever the hell he wants with me. Now…we have the others to heal. _

_Do you have enough energy?_

_Yes I do. But do you?_

_I'm pretty sure I do._

_Then let's heal the others now._

Melissa spread her wings and took off, heading towards the area where the others were. When she was right above the area, she and Gloria concentrated all their remaining energy and yelled, "Wáise heïll!"

Light just exploded from their body and rained down on Ashley Duke, Xalahk, Leon, and Jessica. Their bodies glowed gold light momentarily. Then the light died down and they were all healed. When the light exploded from their bodies, Gloria and Melissa instantly changed back. Gloria was back in her human disguise and Melissa was back in her demon-dragon form. They both landed slowly on their feet.

Gloria sat down soon after landing on the ground. She was just exhausted. "C'mon G, we have to see the others," Melissa said behind her. "Just have to make sure they're ok."

Gloria looked at her and nodded in reply. Then she saw the insignia on Melissa's chest. "Melissa was that branded into you?" she asked.

Melissa placed her hand over the insignia and responded, "Yeah it was. Tichondrius branded the insignia on me as punishment for letting you guys have Dark Magician and the other mages."

This frightened Gloria a little. She was very worried about what Tichondrius would do to the dragon for killing Velora. "I said don't worry about me Gloria," Melissa reminded. "Just worry about what you and the others need to do." She walked past Gloria and headed towards the others. "Now, come. We have to check on everyone else."

Gloria slowly got up and walked with Melissa as they both headed towards their friends. Before they reached them, Ashley, Jessica, Leon, Xalahk, and Duke woke up. Ashley, Jessica, Leon, and Duke transformed to normal. Ashley was the first one to see Gloria and Melissa. "You're ok!" she yelled in happiness.

Almost instantly she ran towards them. The others took notice and began to make their way to the vampire and dragon. Melissa did not think they would want to see her. She still felt very guilty for hurting them in the past. She turned around and began heading towards the fortress that she now feared. She did not know what Tichondrius would do to her. However, as long as he left her friends alone, he could do whatever the hell he wanted to do to her.

Gloria looked at her and inquired, "Melissa, where are you going?"

"I'm heading back to Tichondrius's fortress. Besides, they wouldn't want to see me. Not after what I've done to them," Melissa replied.

"You don't know that."

"I'd rather not face them than do so and be rejected by my own friends."

Gloria looked at her friends for a few seconds. They were already approaching them quickly. She looked back at Melissa and said, "I understand. Before you go, I have to say…thank you. I wouldn't have been able to kill Velora without your help. Thank you."

Melissa looked back at Gloria and smiled. "I thank you for your help. You have grown much stronger since the last time I fought with you. Keep your spirit and heart strong and lead the others to victory. Don't worry about me. Worry about what is going on now."

Then she turned around and continued walking slowly. Jessica, Ashley, Leon, and Xalahk reached Gloria and just cheered around her. But Duke paid no attention. As happy as he was to know that Gloria was ok, he was beyond happy to know that Melissa was okay and had actually helped them instead of go against them as previous encounters.

But he didn't understand why Melissa was walking away from them instead of greeting them as she normally would.

Of course, he did not know how Melissa felt about her betrayal or what she had suffered.

When he was only a few feet away from Melissa, he asked, "Melissa, where are you going?"

But Melissa did not respond. She just continued walking. "Melissa, what's wrong with you? Why are you just ignoring us?"

Again she didn't respond. Gloria wanted to try and stop him so that she could explain why Melissa was simply walking away from them. But she knew that his love for Melissa was still strong, even after all she had done to them. She also knew that this was hard for the dragon to do.

Melissa did not like ignoring Duke or the others. But besides not wanting to face rejection from her own friends, she had to make sure that they didn't suffer anymore than they already had. She figured that Sylan might be on his way here to get his revenge. She did not want them to have to suffer from his wrath if he was on his way. He would want to deal with Melissa first before heading to kill the others. Their confrontation would give her friends precious time to escape. As much as she hated to leave them, especially Duke, she had to for their safety.

She continued walking, ignoring Duke the best she could. But he wouldn't give up. His eyes began to water. Finally, he saw Melissa work as their ally like the good days and now she was ignoring them like they never existed.

"Melissa, have you forgotten who we are? Have you forgotten your own friends?!" he demanded.

Finally Melissa stopped. She just couldn't continue to ignore them. Her own eyes began to water. She couldn't ignore Duke anymore.

"No I haven't forgotten," she clarified in a soft voice. "I would never forget you guys."

"Then why were you ignoring us? Why are you just walking away when you just helped save our lives?" Duke inquired.

"Because Duke if I don't leave, Sylan will come and try to kill you guys for killing Velora. I have to leave and make sure he fights me instead. I cannot stay for long."

Melissa began walking again but Duke grabbed her arm. He literally began pleading with her and even knelt on one knee, holding her arm tightly. "Please Melissa don't leave," he said, crying right near her. "Just come back to us. I can't stand fighting you anymore. I can't go on living, knowing that you have to suffer when you don't do as you're told. Please…just come back."

Melissa could not stand seeing the look on his face. She turned away, her eyes beginning to water even more. But it wasn't only Duke who had become very upset by the issue going on between them. Suddenly Ashley began to talk. "He's right Melissa," she said. It seemed she too was getting upset to the point that her eyes began to water. "We cannot fight you anymore. You're our friend, not our enemy. Please, just leave Tichondrius and come back to us. Help us defeat him."

"I—I can't," Melissa spoke softly.

"If you were able to help us, then you can ditch Tichondrius and help your true allies," Xalahk said.

"Yeah, he's right. If you could betray Tichondrius and help us, then what's preventing you from joining us again?" Leon asked.

"Because if I leave now, all of the World's Guardians will die," Melissa clarified.

She thought Drake had told her friends of the danger. That if Melissa even dared try to leave, Tichondrius would use the virus on her friends. She could not allow that.

"I'm sorry guys, but I cannot join you. If I do, you will all die from Tichondrius's virus. And I cannot continue living afterwards, knowing that I had caused your deaths," Melissa said. "If Tichondrius never created that virus, I would've tried to escape a long time ago. But I can't. I'm sorry I cannot join you. I must leave."

"No! No, don't leave! Please!" Duke yelled in desperation and grief. He did not want to lose her now. Not after waiting so long to look at her as an ally rather than an enemy. He wanted more than anything for her to stay with them and not fight them anymore.

Gloria could not stand watching her friends like this. She turned around, not wanting to face this anymore. She wanted to have Melissa back more than anything in the world. She wanted everything to return to normal and forget that all this had ever happened. But she was powerless to change this. She could only listen as Duke continued to try all he could to get Melissa to stay, oblivious to what would happen to them if she did stay with them.

All he did was cry uncontrollably by her side. _Why did she have to be kidnapped? Why does she have to suffer? Why? _he thought to himself.

He didn't care if any of his friends thought he was making a big deal out of this. He just didn't care. He only wanted peace and to be with Melissa.

Melissa wanted to be with him just as much as he with her. But she just couldn't stay and risk them. She had to leave now. She had to prevent anything else from happening to them. But she couldn't bear leaving Duke like this. Not in an emotional wreck. Finally, she knelt down in front of him and wrapped her wings around him in a comforting hug. Suddenly she felt someone hug her and realized that it was Ashley, Leon, and Jessica. Their eyes seemed to be watery as well. Gloria also joined in. Xalahk felt sympathy towards the dragon that Gloria and the others always mentioned. He decided to give them their moment alone. He slowly walked away on twos again, giving his allies the privacy they needed.

There was only several minutes of silence, except for Duke's weeping, sniffling from a bit of crying from the others, and the occasional strong wind. But finally after nearly ten minutes of just weeping and silence, they all calmed down and got off of each other. Melissa removed her wings after Duke had at last settled down. The two got up slowly. Gloria, Leon, Ashley, and Jessica took a few steps away to give them space.

Duke looked down at the ground, wiping his eyes from any remaining tears. Melissa looked down at him, wanting more time with him. But she had to leave if she wanted to be able to keep her friends safe. This would probably be the last time that she would enjoy being with her friends instead of trying to kill them under the orders of Tichondrius. She heaved a loud sigh of misery. She placed her hand on Duke's chin and brought his face up so that he was facing her straight in the eye.

Then she finally uttered in a shaky voice, "I'm sorry Duke. I know you want me to stay. But I just can't. I have to protect you guys at all costs. You're all more important to me than life itself. If I have to die by Sylan's or Tichondrius's wrath, then so be it. The world needs you." She shot a quick look at everyone. "All of you, to keep everyone safe and keep darkness from overrunning the Earth. You are the light in this world. Only you can protect this world from anyone who threatens it. Please, leave me now and get back to the others, wherever they may be. Do not worry about me. Worry about your goal and about your allies. You all keep each other strong. All of you have a special power in your heart that will help you in your upcoming battle. Only your heart will guide you the right way. Also know this. Even if I'm not there with you in person, I'm always there for you in your heart."

Everyone thought about what Melissa had said. Despite being ready to be tortured or even killed by Tichondrius for the death of Velora, she still had hope in them. She knew that they all had the power to defeat Tichondrius. "You all have the power to defeat even the mightiest of beasts. You just have to believe in yourselves," Melissa continued. Then she said to Duke alone, "You especially must not worry about me. You have the others to worry about as well as this war. I'll be ok. Trust me."

Duke nodded weakly in reply, looking at the ground again. As much as he hated to leave her and force himself not to worry about her, he knew that he had to help the others create the army they needed. He needed to protect everyone else. If he couldn't save Melissa, then the least he could do is fulfill her wishes and help the others best he could. He looked up at Melissa again and finally muttered, "I promise that we will come and save you before taking on Tichondrius. I'll always be with you, no matter where you are. Just please, hang in there."

"I'll always be with you as well, Duke," Melissa added. Then with a small smile, she said, "I'll try not to get myself killed, even though that'll be hard."

"I love you Melissa."

"I love you too Duke."

She gave him one last big, long hug before she moved on to the others. She gave a final big hug to Leon, Jessica, and Ashley, who returned her hug. Then she walked towards Gloria and stood still in front of her, looking down at her. Finally she said, "You are a very wise and powerful leader Gloria. I know you can lead everyone to victory. Remember: don't worry about me, worry about your allies, watch out for Tichondrius or any of his lackeys, and please, above all, watch out for Duke, Ashley, Leon, and the rest of them. They're all looking up to you. I know this is stressful but I know you can handle it. If not, have someone temporarily take your place. Only your heart and your friends can lead you to victory. Strength comes from the heart. Never forget that. I believe in you and the others. I know you will all defeat Tichondrius. Never give up. Even if victory seems impossible, you cannot give up. The fate of the world is in your hands."

Gloria nodded in reply. Melissa wrapped her wings around her and hugged her tightly for the last time. Then she removed her wings and uttered, "May the gods be with you."

"Thank you for your help Melissa. If it hadn't been for you, we wouldn't be alive," Gloria said.

"I didn't defeat Velora alone. You deserve some credit as well. If it hadn't been for our teamwork, we wouldn't have defeated Velora. So they should be thanking you as well."

"Still, you helped save us."

"Perhaps I have. But I must take my leave now. It's only a matter of time before Tichondrius or Sylan heads this way to get revenge."

"Right. We should be heading back to our…army as well. Be careful Melissa."

"You too. Look out for Duke will you? I'm worried about him."

Gloria gave her a small smile. "Yeah, I'll watch him."

"Thanks. Remember what I said. Remain a strong, wise leader."

"I will. I promise you that I will lead everyone to victory."

"I know you will." Then Melissa finally repeated, "May the gods be with you."

"May the gods be with you as well."

At last, Melissa walked past Gloria and towards the tip of a rock that was sticking out and slanted. She spread her wings and snorted loudly. She took one last glance at her friends, who either mouthed "good-bye" or just waved their good-byes. Melissa said, "Good-bye, my friends."

At last she leaped from the tip of the rock and flapped her wings. She was hovering above the ground before she began flying higher. In a few minutes she began soaring towards the fortress, ready to endure torture or even death for the death of Velora.

But despite this, she was proud for killing one of Tichondrius's lackeys. Not only that, but she was very proud of her friends and their determination to kill the vampire. Gloria, Leon, Ashley, Duke, Orlando, Johnny, Caitlin, Jessica, and James had indeed grown much more powerful and much more intelligent since the beginning of this war, which made Melissa even prouder of her friends.

The sun had already begun to set. Melissa continued soaring to the fortress. She was not scared or nervous. In fact, she was ready to meet Tichondrius and face the consequences for her actions, which would give her friends precious hope to fight until victory is gained.

Silence had settled where Gloria and the others were. They were tired, worried, and upset about Melissa's leave. They knew they would see her again, but she would try to kill them or try to take their allies. This was the last time that they would be able to speak with her as an ally.

After nearly five more minutes, Duke turned around and began walking towards their base. Gloria was about to stop him when Leon stopped her. He said in a soft voice, "Leave him. He needs rest and time alone. Right now he's an emotional wreck. Just give him a chance to return to normal."

Gloria sighed and nodded in reply. Duke soon turned into a silver dragon and took flight. Leon, Ashley, Jessica, Gloria, and Xalahk watched him go. "How are we going to get back to the base?" Xalahk asked.

"Xalahk you underestimate us sometimes. We don't need him all the time to fly us to places. Sometimes we need to have him fly us so that we can save energy if we're heading towards a fight," Jessica clarified. "I already know how we can get back to the base."

"Whatever you say Jessica. As long as we have a way back," Xalahk added.

Jessica created a large platform of darkness and, with everyone on it, used her power to guide the platform towards the base.

Duke was flying alone and silently. He was greatly upset by Melissa's leave, but in a way also happy that he was able to see her without having to fight her like in previous encounters.

But now he was extremely worried about what would happen to her when she returned. But he wanted to fulfill her wishes and he forced himself to clear his mind. He knew Melissa was right about all she had said before leaving. He knew he couldn't be solely worried about Melissa. He had the others to help. He had a promise to keep and he would sacrifice himself to fulfill it. He loved Melissa and knew that Melissa loved him back. That love, as well as the strong friendship with his friends and allies, drove him to continue their campaign against Tichondrius. He will get his revenge soon and be reunited with Melissa. For now, he had to help the others and keep true to his promise.

For now, his friends, his promise, and the future victory of this war were all that was important to him.


	21. Torture

Chapter XX: Torture

Finally Melissa arrived at the fortress, ready to face punishment. She slowly walked towards the Meeting Room. Before she reached the room, Reptile stopped her. "Melissa, you have to get out," he whispered in unease. "Tichondrius is very angry and I'm afraid he will do horrible things to you."

"Reptile, I already know he's angry. I know what I have done and I'm ready to face the punishment," Melissa answered.

"But—" Reptile was about to say but by the look on the dragon's face he wasn't going to convince her to run.

Melissa simply walked past him and added, "Reptile, do not worry about me. If anything happens to me, remain in contact with my friends and work with them. Only they can free you."

She walked without another word. Reptile's heart was filled with dread. He wasn't sure what to do now. He needed to speak with Drake on the progress of the World's Guardians. He headed to his cell, calling to Drake with his mind.

Melissa reached the big double doors to the Meeting Room and pushed them forward at the same time. As always, Tichondrius stood in front of the many screens. It almost looked as if he was oblivious to Melissa. But she knew it would change. Standing several feet away from him, she decided to say something first. "I have returned, Tichondrius. I was not able to get—"

Suddenly, she was grabbed by the neck from Tichondrius. He moved towards her like a viper and was able to grab her even when she was several feet away. He strengthened his grip on her neck, choking her to the point where she thought she would faint or even die. "Don't try to lie to me! Don't think I don't know what happened! How dare you kill Velora!!" Tichondrius roared in rage.

He threw Melissa across the room, smashing her into a wall so hard a part of the stone wall crumbled from the big impact. She groaned in pain while struggling to get up. Tichondrius comes up to her and kicks her hard in the stomach, knocking the air out of her. She gasped for air, struggling hard to breath. Before she can even regain her breath, Tichondrius grabs her again, digging his long, sharp nails into her chest and pulled her up to his face. She only growled weakly in pain but looked at Tichondrius straight in the eye. She could feel the rage literally radiating off of him.

"You son of a bitch! Why did you kill Velora??!" Tichondrius demanded.

"Why? Because that bitch deserved to die! She was going to hurt my friends and I wasn't about to let her kill them!" Melissa exclaimed angrily.

Tichondrius threw her again. "I'll make sure your friends suffer as well for killing Velora! None will escape from my wrath!"

Melissa's eyes were wide with fear for her friends. Tichondrius activated the virus but used a control to do something else. "Now I'll make sure your precious Duke suffers greatly first!" Tichondrius threatened.

"No!" Melissa yelled.

* * *

Back at the base, Gloria, Leon, Ashley, Xalahk, Jessica, and Duke had returned to the base and were outside, speaking with their allies when suddenly Duke collapsed on his knees, screaming in agony. His hand was on his chest in the area where his heart was and Gloria already knew what was going on.

* * *

"You son of a bitch," Melissa whispered in rage. She had had enough. She got up and ran towards Tichondrius, screaming in anger. Tichondrius's back was turned but all he did was turn around, stick his hand out, and concentrated with little power. Melissa was blown back by an unseen force.

"Do you really think that you can stop me?" Tichondrius laughed. "You're as pathetic as your friends."

Melissa growled in anger and was about to attack with her claws when Tichondrius grabbed her wrist and twisted so hard, he actually broke it. She roared in pain but before she could do anything else, Tichondrius punched her hard in the face, sending her smashing against the stone wall again. She groaned and struggled to get up but Tichondrius kicked her in the stomach again. She struggled to breath. "Hmph. You're even weaker than I thought. Your friends have corrupted your power, making you weak," Tichondrius said. He turned back to the screens and used the control to increase something. Unbeknownst to Melissa, the dial was used to increase the virus's attack on the heart, bringing death to the victim much faster than normal and causing even more pain.

* * *

Duke's back arched as he screamed in agony. Jessica tried to use a spell to somehow stop the virus but nothing was working. Nobody could do anything that could stop the virus's attack.

For some reason, Gloria had the urge to do something. She wrapped both hands around Duke's left hand, closed her eyes, and started saying something in the Kudok language. The others did not know what she was saying but it sounded as if she were saying a prayer.

Duke's screams of agony began dying down as if something was taking the pain away. Gloria continued her prayer in the Kudok language while Duke's screams of pain continued to die down. Finally, after several more minutes of pain, Duke stopped moving around in pain and stopped screaming. He lost consciousness as he had done in previous times. Gloria finally let go of his wrist and opened her eyes.

"Gloria…what happened?" Jessica inquired.

"I—I don't know," answered Gloria. "Something just told me to start praying in the Kudok language. I guess somehow it stopped the virus. But I don't know what got me to do that. It just…happened."

"We can figure it out later," James uttered. "Right now we have to get Duke inside."

Leon, Orlando, Gloria, and James picked up Duke and brought him inside.

* * *

Melissa tried to get her breathing normal. Tichondrius was concentrating on hurting Duke and had almost lost interest in her. But then he turned around and looked at her with glaring eyes. Melissa got her breathing normal and said, "If you want revenge take it out on me. My friends did nothing."

"Your friends killed Velora. They will all die. Each and every one of them will suffer for what they've done," threatened Tichondrius.

"No. They didn't kill her. I did. I was solely responsible for killing her. My friends were powerless against her and could not stand against her. But I was able to use my attack to rip her to shreds and kill her. I was responsible, not them," lied Melissa.

"Why should I believe that?"

"Because I was the one who hated Velora. Gloria and the others didn't even know who the hell Velora was. They know nothing of your army except you, Sylan, and me. They wouldn't have a reason to kill her. Only I would."

Tichondrius seemed to fall for it. He turned around and pressed the button to deactivate the virus. Unbeknownst to him, Gloria had somehow stopped the pain in Duke's heart and destroyed the virus.

"You'll be facing double the punishment for your actions. You're lucky I don't kill you," Tichondrius reminded. "But don't think your friends won't suffer."

"Leave them alone Tichondrius! They had nothing to do with this!" Melissa ordered defiantly.

"Shut up!" Tichondrius yelled in anger. He backslapped her hard. But not even that stopped her. She didn't know of the destruction of the virus in Duke's heart.

She growled and was about to attack when Tichondrius held his hand out again and somehow stopped her movement. Two large cobraman knights grabbed her arms and tied them behind her back while she was frozen by an unseen force. Then she was released from the power. She roared in anger and struggled against the two cobraman knights. But they held her back. Tichondrius could only smile and laugh. "Take her to the dungeon. Tell everyone of what is to occur at this very hour. Wait for me," he ordered the knights.

The cobraman knights dragged the struggling Melissa away. She tried and tried again to get at Tichondrius but gave up after a few minutes. She knew what was to come, but she wasn't sure exactly what he would do to her in her torture. But she wasn't afraid. She was prepared to face the consequences. She knew her friends didn't have much time left if Tichondrius kept to his word and used the virus to hurt them longer than usual. Until then, she would have to worry about herself. For unknown to her, she was going to go through the worst torture ever.

* * *

Melissa was chained to the stone ground. She was on her knees, waiting for Tichondrius to come. Two cobraman knights stood beside her while a crowd of monsters from Tichondrius's army stood nearly 20 feet away, watching and waiting for the upcoming event that they would probably enjoy.

Finally Tichondrius came and sat down on a big chair right in front of Melissa. He crossed his arms while a cobraman knight stood next to Tichondrius and said, "Melissa, you have killed Velora, and for that you will be punished. This punishment will be a message to everyone that disobeying the Master or killing any minion of the Master will have serious consequences. You should be happy that the Master is kind enough to let you live. But you will face the greatest punishment ever done in this great fortress. Today, you will face the consequences for your actions!"

Melissa didn't do anything except growl and glare at Tichondrius. "Anu'delt, bring out the whips," the vile beast ordered.

Melissa gasped softly. She looked back at the cobraman knight named Anu'delt, who disappeared for a minute and then returned with a long thin object. Melissa's heart raced as she realized that the cobraman was holding not one, but _two_ whips. The crowd of monsters literally cheered at the sight of those. Evidently the monsters enjoyed watching someone suffer for disobeying their master.

The two cobraman knights that stood beside her each took a whip and smacked it against the ground to make sure it was still good. Then they stood beside Melissa again. The whips brought fear and nervousness to Melissa and a small part of her almost wished she had not killed Velora.

Anu'delt looked at Tichondrius and asked, "How many hits Tichondrius?"

_How many hits? The victim gets a specific number of hits depending on the problem they're getting punished for??_ Melissa thought.

Tichondrius was silent and had to think for a sec. The monsters in the crowd were yelling random numbers. 1,000, 50, 100, 70, and more numbers came from the crowd. Tichondrius stuck his hand out to his right and the monsters were silenced. Then he answered, "200 hits altogether. You each take one hundred."

Melissa gasped at the large number Tichondrius had chosen. She wasn't even sure if she could actually survive that many. She looked at the cobraman knights beside her and noticed them moving behind her and getting themselves ready. They looked at Tichondrius along with Melissa. All he did was nod.

Melissa gasped lightly again and looked behind her. One of the cobraman knights brought his whip up and then smacked it against Melissa's bare back. Melissa felt an explosion of pain. She groaned loudly in pain. Then she felt another explosion of pain and heard the smack of the whip against her back. The crowd cheered loudly. Tichondrius sat where he was, smiling sinisterly.

Another explosion of pain came from Melissa's back and again she heard the noise of the whip smacking against her back. Melissa moaned in pain, wondering how on earth she was going to survive 200 hits from two whips.

* * *

Duke groaned as he barely opened his eyes. His eyes were opened very little, but he could still tell that he was in a room of almost complete darkness. He closed his eyes after another minute of just looking.

He could feel that he was lying on a soft bed. He didn't feel anything else that was part of his surroundings. But for some reason, he could feel pain on his back, like something was hitting him. He wasn't sure why he felt it but he just did.

His chest didn't hurt anymore. He didn't remember exactly what happened but he did recall someone grabbing his hand and then heard that person chanting something in the Kudok language. Then he felt overwhelming power surging through his body. The pain steadily went away and he felt something inside his heart, where the virus resided, but it felt more powerful. He couldn't exactly explain it. Then he remembered blacking out.

And now he was feeling pain on his back. He wasn't sure if the chanting was responsible for that. He couldn't even explain how it was happening. But he could feel small explosion after explosion of pain on his back. He had to find out.

He gently pushed himself but stopped when he heard groaning. His eyes had finally adjusted to the darkness, so he could see a silhouette of a person sitting down right next to him. It scared him since it took him by complete surprise.

It sounded like the person was sleeping. Duke got up from the bed, walked up to the silhouette, and crouched down. He snapped his fingers and his entire right hand was suddenly engulfed in flames. Of course, the red flames didn't hurt him.

The strong flames filled the room with a bright light. The bright light revealed the sleeping person as Gloria. _What on Earth is she doing here? _Duke thought. Then he thought for a second. _Duh! Sleeping here, you idiot!_ He called himself the idiot.

He gently shook her to try and wake her up, but she wouldn't. He tried again and still no success. He tried yet again and the same result.

_Maybe I'll just leave her alone. She must be tired after all that has happened_.

Duke was about to exit when he suddenly collapsed and groaned loudly from a sharp pain coming from his back. The pain was getting worse and worse. He was about to get up when he felt someone helping him. He looked behind him and realized that it was Gloria. He was confused at first but allowed her to help him back up onto the bed. She sat back down on the chair that was a few feet away. "Gloria why is it when I tried to wake you up, you didn't but when I collapsed you decided to wake up?" Duke wondered.

"I did wake up on the third try but I didn't make it obvious. Why? I dunno," Gloria answered. "Anyway, what happened?"

"I collapsed from a sharp pain in my back. Then you helped me."

"Why do you feel pain in your back?"

"I don't know. But it feels like something is hitting me and hard."

"Let me see your back."

Duke got up again but turned around and lifted his shirt high enough so that Gloria could see his entire back. What she saw confused her. There were thin red marks all over Duke's back like an invisible whip or something was hitting him. "Duke, where did you get all these red marks?" she asked him.

"Red marks? I didn't even know I had any," Duke replied almost worriedly.

"These could be what are causing your pain," guessed Gloria.

"But if they are, then how did I get it? A spell or something?" inquired Duke.

"Your guess is as good as mine."

Unexpectedly, Duke collapsed on his knees again from another sharp pain. Gloria crouched down near him and tried to help him up again. She helped him back to the bed. She wasn't sure what was causing his pain or what had caused the red marks. But Duke's question about the marks was also unexpected. "Gloria…do you think this is actually coming from Melissa?"

"What? But how?" wondered Gloria.

"I don't know. It's just a thought. But I have a feeling that it is her, maybe trying to show us how much she's suffered," Duke said.

"But Duke, think about it. Why on Earth would she want you to suffer to show us? You know she wouldn't allow any of us to suffer like that."

"I just don't know. But I just have this feeling that it is her. Don't you feel it too?"

In fact, Gloria did have a strange feeling. She felt that someone was in danger and could almost feel their suffering. After what Duke said, she began to believe that it was Melissa. "Yes, I feel it too," she admitted.

"See? It has to be her!" Duke said.

"But how can it be? Is she using some kind of spell or something?"

"Maybe…it's because you've created a close friendship and she and I have a close relationship. Maybe because of that, we can feel her suffering."

"But it doesn't make sense. If that's the cause, then why didn't this happen before?"

"I don't know. I'm just worried about her. What did those red marks look like?"

"Like a thin thing like a whip or something was hitting you."

"Then maybe that's a sign that she's being tortured for killing Velora as we speak…"

Gloria could not think of such a thing. She didn't even know how Duke could think that. The thought that Melissa could be tortured at this very moment by being whipped mercilessly horrified her. She immediately cleared the thought from her mind or else the thought would've haunted her until Melissa was out of Tichondrius's hands.

"I know it's a bad thing to think about, let alone bring up, but what else could it be?" Duke admitted.

"Just don't talk about it. I can't think about something like that happening to her," Gloria said in a shaky voice.

"I'm sorry. I should've kept it to myself," Duke muttered, upset.

Gloria turned around and faced a window that was several feet away from the bed. Moonlight was now shining through it. Before, clouds were covering the moon, preventing light from going inside the room, which was why the room was almost completely dark before.

Duke could almost hear Gloria beginning to cry. He slowly got up and walked to her. When he was right beside her, he realized that she really was crying. He thought the image that he had brought up before had upset her, which made him even more upset. He was about to turn around and leave when Gloria said, "I just can't take it anymore."

"Take what anymore?" Duke asked, fearing that she might do something to herself. He had dealt with enough people committing suicide or hurting themselves because of extremely stressful situations like this.

"I can't go on knowing that Melissa is being tortured because she's trying to protect or help us. I don't even know how she could survive nearly a month in Tichondrius's fortress. If that were me, I would've—"

"No you wouldn't!" Duke exclaimed. He almost wanted to cry himself. He never liked seeing others upset, especially his best friends. "You wouldn't kill yourself!"

"I wouldn't be able to last as long as she has. How can she stand being there, knowing that she'll be tortured if she doesn't do what she's told to do?"

"Gloria, I know you. I know you enough to know that you wouldn't kill yourself. She's got a strong spirit and so do you. You could survive just as long. You've got a strong heart, a strong spirit and your friends and family will help you survive because you know they need you just as much as you need them. Don't ever say that you will commit suicide like that. I know you wouldn't. Ashley knows you wouldn't. Caitlin knows you wouldn't. Hell, even James and Melissa know you wouldn't kill yourself. Even if you were in the same situation as Melissa is now. Besides, killing yourself won't help us in any way shape or form in this war."

"I guess you're right."

"Just hang in there Gloria. I know this is all extremely stressful for you, but this will be over soon. Soon we'll all be together again and going home. Then we can live peacefully again, just like the old days."

"Yeah. We will one day."

"Yeah. All you need to do is hang in there."

"But what about you?"

"What about me?"

"You haven't exactly been ok yourself."

"Gloria, I've said this a million times. Don't worry about me. You have others to worry about. Besides, I'm ok. Right now I just need some rest and I'll be ok again before you know it. Perhaps you should do the same."

"I can't get some rest right now. I have things to do."

"I know you heard Melissa correctly when she said 'have someone temporarily take your place' if you're very stressed out. Have James take over for a while. He's smart; I know he can easily take your place for a while."

"Maybe I will take a break and have James take over…but then what will you do?"

"I'll be resting for some time and then I'll go and help the others if needed."

"You can rest for a week. That should be enough time for you to get back to normal."

"Then a week it is. You on the other hand should rest for two weeks. You deserve it."

"I can't be resting for that long."

"Who says you can't? You're in charge, you need more rest than anyone, and you're extremely stressed out. Give yourself three weeks if you have to, whatever it takes to get some pressure off you."

"I guess I could do that."

"I hope you do."

Duke finally turned away from the window and was walking towards the room's exit when he collapsed yet again from another sharp pain. Gloria was about to help when he held his hand out and said, "I'm fine."

He slowly got up again and began walking out. He opened the door and was about to close it when he added, "Do you want me to get James? He might make you feel better."

"Yeah, get him for me please," Gloria responded.

Duke nodded in reply, closed the door, and began walking around to retrieve James.

* * *

"198…199…200!" the crowd screamed.

At last, the whipping was over. Melissa was relieved to finally reach 200. She didn't think she would make it. Blood was gushing from the many wounds on her back, especially from the wounds that were caused by the whips smacking vulnerable flesh.

She was still kneeling down, breathing hard and groaning from the agony. She had survived the first of her ordeal, but she knew it wasn't over.

The cobraman knights that had the two whips were covered in her blood. They both put the whips back on a nearby table and waited for Tichondrius's command. He only stared at Melissa for what seemed like a long time. Then finally he ordered, "Bring out the thorns!"

_The thorns? What is he going to do with thorns? Stab me to death? _Melissa wondered. Whatever he was going to do, it wouldn't be pretty.

She watched as Anu'delt got something else called thorns. She already had a feeling that the next thing was more than thorns. The cobraman took out two more things that were wrapped in a circle and gave it to the other cobraman knights. They unrolled the unknown object. When Melissa saw it, it horrified her. The "thorns" were actually more whips but covered in curved thorns that were meant to dig into flesh and not be easy come out. She looked at Tichondrius to wait for his command. She was hoping it wouldn't be over 100 again. He said, "How many hits should it be?"

The crowd went wild and began screaming big numbers like 200 again, 150, and even 500. But of course, Tichondrius didn't listen to them. Instead, he said "We'll make it 50."

Melissa was still horrified by the large number. She had survived the first torture, but would she survive the second?

She was about to find out.

Tichondrius nodded again. The cobraman knight on Melissa's right brought his whip back and smacked it against her already damaged back. The curved thorns cut deep into her flesh. When the cobraman knight was going to bring the whip back to him, it only pulled at Melissa's flesh. She groaned in pain as he pulled at the whip but it wouldn't come out. Finally with all his strength, he pulled at the whip once more, and it finally came out. Melissa screamed in agony as the spikes were finally out but it actually pulled flesh off. The crowd just went wild.

The other cobraman knight smacked the whip against Melissa's back and again the thorns got stuck. When he did pull it out, it ripped off more flesh. Melissa screamed again. _By the time those bastards are done with me, I'll be stripped to the bone, _she thought. _How am I going to survive this time?

* * *

_

Reptile could hear Melissa's agonizing screams of pain. He could not stand it anymore. He had passed the crowd previously and had actually seen the cobraman knights whipped his friend. He only saw a few seconds of it but it still haunted him now. He did not know that it was her they were hurting until he actually saw her. He thought it was another monster that was being tortured to death as Tichondrius had done a few days ago. But his worst fears were confirmed when he did see the dragon. He had run back to his cell and began crying uncontrollably. He was hoping that Melissa wouldn't go through the same thing he went through. By the sound of things, however, her torture was worse than his.

He had already contacted Drake and was waiting for him to arrive. He had much to tell him. He also wanted Drake to tell Melissa's friends to hurry with their army as well as be extremely careful. Chances were that Sylan would soon attack them and kill them. Although Reptile had confidence in them, he believed that they wouldn't be able to defeat him alone.

All he could do in his cell was wait for Drake and hope that Melissa's torture would end very soon.

* * *

"Duke tells me you're going to need a replacement," James said to Gloria.

He and Gloria were in their room. She had her head pressed against his chest and he had his arm wrapped around her shoulders. She had long since settled down from what occurred in the room with Duke, but she was still very tired. They were both staring out the window.

"He suggests that I take a long break because I'm stressed out," Gloria answered.

"Well he's right. You are too stressed out to continue our campaign. You should take a break."

"I don't know." As much as Gloria wanted a break, she didn't want something to happen while she was resting.

"Are you afraid something is gonna happen while you rest?"

Gloria was amazed that James was right. "How'd you know?"

James gave her a small smile. "I can tell Gloria. You and I have been together for a long time. I can tell what's on your mind most of the time."

"Ah, right." Gloria forgot about that.

"C'mon G, just take a break. You don't have to worry. I'll make sure everyone is ok and that we still get allies. And if we need you for the utmost important missions then we'll get you.. And when you're ready to take your place as head of this army again, then just tell me and I'll give you back your position. Simple as that. Duke was right when he told me that you deserve a long rest. So many things have happened in such a small amount of time. Get some long deserved rest, will you?"

Gloria sighed. "Ok, I guess I can try it."

"That's it," James said with another smile. He kissed Gloria on her forehead and said, "You can leave everything to me. You don't need to worry. Trust me."

"You're right James, I trust you," Gloria agreed.

They continued staring at the window, enjoying each other's company and wondering what they were going to do next for their campaign against Tichondrius.

* * *

At last, the cobraman knights had stopped. They reached 50, and now they were taking a rest. The monsters screamed, roared, screeched, and hissed in excitement. But it was obvious they wanted more. The floor was soaked in blood and a few slices of flesh were on the floor which fell from the whips. Tichondrius sat in his tall black chair comfortably, watching his 'apprentice' scream, groan, and moan in pain.

Melissa wasn't sure how she had survived. She could feel pain all over the place. The flesh-ripping whips had done serious damage to her back. She felt the worst pain from that area. She wasn't sure how much longer she would live. The pain was intense, she was losing tons of blood, and her back was damaged beyond repair.

But she knew it wasn't over.

_Slifer, please…end this. Let me die here. Just please, end the pain and let me die,_ Melissa pleaded.

Tichondrius said, "Bring out the chains!"

_Chains? Is it done finally?_

Anu'delt took out long chains and actually placed them in a fire nearby. Melissa didn't exactly get what he was going to do. Until it finally hit her after the cobraman knights took the chains.

_Now he's going to use heated chains? I've never heard of something like that._

Melissa glared at Tichondrius. She had suffered enough. She wanted Tichondrius to go through the same pain she was going through. She knew that when the time came for revenge, she would make sure that he suffered form torture just as much as she had.

The cobraman knights were wearing gloves that protected them from the heat of the chains. They waited for Tichondrius to come up with a number. Once again the monsters were screaming random numbers. And yet again the vampire didn't listen. "20 hits this time," he announced.

Melissa almost wanted to sigh in relief. Finally, a number that she knew would come quick. But the question was: would she survive another whipping?

* * *

Duke stayed in his room, his door locked to prevent anyone else from entering. He was sitting down on the edge of his bed, groaning loudly from intense pain that he felt on his back. He had collapsed on his bed several times before from feeling intense pain. It felt like someone was just ripping flesh from his body as well. He almost wanted to cry from all the pain he felt. He never felt this much pain before, not even with the virus. He was being tortured by an invisible force, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

He had a feeling that whatever he felt was coming from the torture that Melissa was suffering back at the fortress where Tichondrius resided. He had become extremely worried about her, wondering if she would even survive such agony. He prayed to Slifer, the god he respected the most, and asked the thunder dragon god to end Melissa's pain. Not kill her, just simply take it away. Duke would rather suffer from pain than have Melissa suffer like this. He knew that what he was feeling wasn't n close to the real thing. He didn't want Melissa to suffer like this.

Although he didn't realize it before, he began to shed tears again. So much was on his mind that was making him upset. So many emotions were locked inside him. The only way to relieve himself from all these emotions, he thought, would be to just cry. Rage, sorrow, and worry were locked inside him, unable to be released except by weeping.

_Why did the gods allow this to happen? Why can't they do anything to stop this? _he thought in anger. _Why can't they just help Melissa get out and help us kill Tichondrius? Why??_

He needed some rest, badly. He cleared his mind of any thoughts and continued to cry; ignoring new pain he was feeling.

* * *

As fast as it had started, the new whipping was over. The heated chains mostly burned into her flesh, blackening parts of her back. The burning was worse than the actual hitting from the chains. But thankfully, it had gone by fast.

Melissa's condition was getting much worse by the minute. Not only was her flesh burned, but she was still loosing a lot of blood causing her to feel lightheaded. She thought she would lose consciousness.

The cobraman knights, exhausted from the continuing whipping, finally collapsed on the ground. The monsters were still cheering. Tichondrius was still sitting on his damn chair, just watching Melissa with delight. He was pleased by Melissa's torture. He enjoyed all of this.

"I know you can survive one more thing, Melissa," he sneered. "You are a strong person."

Melissa growled in anger. Tichondrius ignored it and said, "For the last thing, brand her again on the back."

_No…just end it._ Melissa almost wanted to cry in anger and pain. She also did not want to get branded again.

Anu'delt himself took the same heated metal rod that was used the first time Melissa was tortured and walked up to her. He suddenly placed the rod on her severely damaged back and left it on for several excruciating seconds.

The dragon's flesh sizzled from the heated metal. The metal literally began sinking into her flesh, causing the worst agony she had felt yet. She screamed loudly in pain.

At long last, she had given up. She finally collapsed on the ground, the branding object off her back. At long last, her world went black.

* * *

Duke collapsed on his bed again but this time he bellowed in excruciating pain. Something invisible was burning him. He could not take the pain anymore.

But suddenly he felt someone by his left side, trying to do something about the pain. He could hear someone saying, "Hang in there, Duke!" and then there was yet another prayer similar to when the virus was attacking him.

In nearly five seconds, the pain ceased. Duke was groaning but at last the pain was over. He looked to his left and saw Gloria once again by his side. "Gloria…why did you—" he was about to ask when he was interrupted.

"What? Is it against the law to help my friends now?" Gloria asked. "I came to end your pain. Just like me, you've suffered enough. Besides, it just seemed to get worse."

"Well…thanks. You always seem to show up when we need you," Duke commented.

"That's what a leader and a friend does. Helps her friends and allies when needed," Gloria reminded. "Now, get some rest. You're going to need it."

Duke nodded in reply. He stayed where he was on his bed and closed his eyes. Gloria slowly got up and left his room. She slowly walked down the long hall of the base in the first floor. It was late at night and many of her allies were asleep. James, Ashley, Leon, Caitlin, Johnny, and the rest of her friends were asleep. LavFlame, Xalahk, Sifyre, Dark Magician, and most of her other allies were asleep. A few werewolves, several Guardians, Metruzahk, Seerahk, and Dark Magician Girl were standing guard. Drake had flown away, claiming that his friend and master, Reptile was calling to him. He would return soon.

James would take Gloria's place as leader starting tomorrow while she and Duke took a long break. She wasn't sure if she would return to normal after her break nor did she know whether Duke would be ok. He seemed to suffer much more from recent events than Gloria.

She continued her walk down the hallway, wondering if she and Duke would ever be normal again.


	22. The Mutant Virus

Chapter XXI: The Mutant Virus

"Master! When will I be able to fight Velora's killers?!" Sylan demanded.

"In due time, Sylan," Tichondrius responded.

Sylan and Tichondrius were in the Meeting Room alone. Sylan wanted to get his revenge on those who killed Velora, but Tichondrius wouldn't allow it.

"Why can't I go after them now??" Sylan demanded.

"Because it'll ruin my plans. I have a few more things to do to them before I can kill them," Tichondrius explained.

"They'll try to kill you before you finish with your plans!!"

"You forget Sylan. I am much more powerful than them. Not even their army can defeat me. Now, enough of this nonsense. When I give you the command to kill them, then you can do as you wish to them. Now I need you to do something for me. Take this shot and inject into Melissa."

"She actually survived??"

"Of course. I made sure of that. I still need her for my master plan. I can't allow her to die just yet."

"But she will continue to disobey you and help her friends."

"That is why I need you to inject this into her. This virus will mutate her into a beast containing power beyond her imagination. She will become the most powerful dragon on Earth. Not only that, but the second form that comes with this will activate when she is in rage. And that is when she will be under my control. For in that form, her mind will become the mind of a raging beast. She will not even recognize her own friends with the mind of a beast. It's the perfect form for her."

Sylan was amazed with the power of the virus. He couldn't wait to inject the virus. He wanted to see the kind of power the virus possessed.

Tichondrius gave Sylan the shot and he immediately took off. He walked to Melissa's cell, where she was lying down on her chest, unconscious. He took out keys that he had for every locked door in the fortress. He unlocked the cell and knelt down by Melissa. He took out the shot and injected the virus in the dragon's neck. Then he got up, left the cell, locked the door, and went back to report to his master.


	23. The Dragon Awakes

Chapter XXII: The Dragon Awakes

Reptile waited until Sylan left. He didn't understand what Sylan was doing in the dungeon. He didn't see that Sylan had injected Melissa with a virus that Tichondrius had created nor would he know until he saw what the virus did for himself.

When the vampire left, Reptile quietly walked to Melissa's cell door and unlocked it. Now that he was in charge of the guards, he had access to every cell. He unlocked the cell and was horrified with what he saw. Melissa's back was just shredded. He didn't know what Tichondrius had used and he didn't want to know. He was extremely worried about her. But then again he was happy that she was alive, although it seemed impossible from the kind of punishment she went through.

He went inside and knelt down by her. He slowly turned her over but tried to keep her back from making contact with the ground. It was bad enough that she had suffered tremendous amount of pain and had her back shredded. He didn't need to make the situation worse by having her severe wounds get infected.

He searched for her pulse just to be sure that she was alive. When he felt it, he sighed loudly in relief. He held her head close to his chest and began crying in worry, rage, and fear. He was worried for Melissa's safety and the safety of her friends and allies. He was enraged with Tichondrius for doing this to her. He feared that Melissa would die before her friends could come and save them.

Reptile wiped his tears away and whispered loudly to someone. A crystal dragon approached quietly. "Drake I need you to help me," Reptile whispered.

"You do realize that if we're discovered, we can get in severe trouble?" Drake reminded.

"I don't care. I can't just leave her here to die," Reptile answered. "Please, help me."

Drake nodded. "I will do as you wish."

"Thank you."

Drake walked to Melissa's right side. Reptile picked up half of her body and placed her on the dragon's back. Drake slowly walked out with half of Melissa's body on his back. Reptile was holding the rest of her body. The two walked to another cell and placed her on the bed hanging from the wall with the help of chains. Reptile closed the door of his cell and walked to the bed. Drake brought Reptile a wide metal bowl of hot water. There was a towel made of linen cloth soaked with the hot water. Reptile took the towel, squeezed out some of the water, and slowly and carefully began cleaning the wounds on Melissa's back. She did not awake or scream in pain. She remained unconscious as Reptile cleaned each and every one of her wounds with the hot water. Then he bandaged up her back with heavy wool bandages. He remained by her side for the rest of the night.

* * *

_Awaken, my son. She calls to you!_ the voice said in his mind.

Deathorox instantly opened his blue eyes. He slowly lifted his head, opened his mighty jaws, and yawned. He gradually got up and walked to the entrance of his cave. The moon was shining high in the sky. Deathorox's massive, muscular body was bathed in the moon's bright light. Deathorox's beautiful bluish white scales glistened in the moonlight. His wings cast massive shadows on the ground in which he stood on.

His muscles rippled under his body, which was segmented except his arms, legs, and neck. His razor sharp claws scratched at the ground due to Deathorox's sudden feeling of uneasiness and worry.

Again, the voice rang in his head. _Deathorox, you must head to the base of the World's Guardians immediately._

_Why? And who are the World's Guardians?_ Deathorox asked.

_They guard this world with power that is beyond comprehension, although they have yet to discover their true power. They are intelligent, powerful, and brave. They are led by a mighty leader who should be feared. _

_Father, why must I find these great guardians?_

_Only they can lead you to the very person you search for_.

That got Deathorox's attention. For years, since the day he was saved, he had been searching for the young girl that had saved his life when he was young. He was grateful for her help but he never got her name, making his search harder. _How can they lead me to her?_ he asked.

_She is part of their very team. She is one of the most powerful beings in the entire team,_ the voice continued.

_Please Father, can you lead me to this base?_ Deathorox asked.

_I will use my power that can lead you to that base. It is very well hidden so it will take time for you to find it._

This worried Deathorox. His father, Searinox, had great power but how could he help him find the base when it was supposed to be well hidden? _Do not worry, my son. Her energy and power is unique. Part of her spirit resides within the hearts of her friends. I will give you the power to sense that spirit and only that can lead you to her._

His confidence restored, Deathorox asked, _Father, what is her name?_

It took a while for the great dragon to answer. He finally said, _The name of the girl that saved you long ago is Melissa._


	24. The Blue Eyes White Dragon

Chapter XXIII: The Blue-Eyes White Dragon

James woke up early the next morning. Gloria was by his side, sleeping like a rock. James had been worried about Gloria for the past few weeks. Too much was happening too fast. He was worried about how everything was affecting Gloria. She sometimes got little or no sleep and she was constantly stressed out. He was worried that she wouldn't be able to think clearly.

Thanks to Duke, Gloria agreed to take a long, well-deserved break while James took her place as leader temporarily. Since their agreement, Gloria had been sleeping like she hadn't slept in years. It made James feel a bit better but he wasn't sure if Gloria would, if _ever_, return to normal. That went double for Duke. Duke had not been himself since the very beginning of this war. He used to be an active, funny, and happy guy. But now he was depressed, stressed out, and very tired. James thought he wouldn't turn back to normal until Melissa returned, which he already knew would take much longer than they had all hope.

He brought his face to hers and kissed her lightly on her cheek. Then he got up, changed into something comfortable, and quietly left the room. He began walking down the hallway and was thinking about all that had occurred and what he had to do while Gloria was taking a break. _I have to get good monsters,_ he thought. _I need strong and clever monsters. I'm going to have to send Metruzahk, Xalahk, and Zerahk to look for any allies we might be able to get. But…what else is there to do? Damn, what would you do Gloria? What else is there for a leader to—_

"James! A new visitor arrives," the Dark Magician announced.

James was taken by surprise. "A visitor?"

"Indeed, James. He identifies himself as Deathorox. He is a mighty dragon," Dark Magician clarified. "He would like to speak with the leader, which I'm assuming is now you."

"Yes. I'm temporarily taking Gloria's place. Is he out there right now?"

"Indeed. He awaits your arrival."

"Then I come."

Dark Magician nodded and headed back outside. James past Duke's room and was several feet away when he heard the door open. He glanced back to see Duke, dressed in a black sleeveless shirt and dark blue pants. "Duke, why are you up so early?" he wondered. It was 6:58 A.M.

"I heard about the new dragon that has come. I want to see him," Duke said. "Besides, I need to move around."

"But you're a wreck. You should be resting right now."

"James, I'm quite capable of making my own decisions. I will see this dragon and then return to rest."

James did not want to anger Duke, so he decided to just drop it. James and Duke walked outside, joining the Dark Magician, Sifyre, LavFlame, and Seerahk as well as the new dragon. James walked up to the dragon and said, 'Greetings, mighty dragon. I am James, temporary leader of this group. Unfortunately, our true leader is resting at this time, so I'm taking her place. I appreciate your help with this war, but just out of curiosity…how did you know of our base and why have you come to us?"

A deep voice rang inside James' head as well as everyone else's. _I, Deathorox, have come because I was told by my father, the great Searinox that the person I seek is here. He used his power to lead me here._

"Searinox? _The _Searinox?" Duke asked.

_Indeed._ Deathorox continued.

Duke had heard of the great dragon but never thought he was still alive, let alone had a son. He was estimated to be nearly 4,500 years old, an age thought impossible for dragons. He was and evidently still is hailed as a king to his kind.

Then after a few more seconds of just thinking about Searinox, he couldn't believe how stupid he was. Not because of Searinox, but because he hadn't realized what Deathorox was until after he thought about Searinox.. "You're a Blue-Eyes White Dragon, one of the rarest dragons on Earth!"

_Indeed I am. I'm surprised you know about my kind. Very, very few have actually heard of our kind._

"A Blue-Eyes White Dragon?" Sifyre asked.

"The Blue-Eyes White Dragon is a beast of pure power. They're skilled masters of electricity. Very few face it and live to tell the tale. But these dragons are extremely rare because they used to be hunted down by humans."

_That is correct. You know a lot about monsters._ Deathorox commented.

"I study monsters," Duke answered. Now getting off the subject, he added, "I know you have something to say, James."

James nodded in reply and said, "Who is this person that you seek? And why?"

_I seek this very person because she saved me long ago when I was young. For years, I have been searching, wanting to thank her and repay my debt to her. But I had always failed. At last, I was told by Searinox that she resides here. I seek Melissa, the silver dragon part of the very legacy of Darlantan. _

"What?!" Duke exclaimed. "You know Melissa??"

_Indeed. Before I didn't know what her name was or who she was. Only that she was the young girl who helped me many years ago. Please, tell me you can help me._

Duke stared at the ground, upset once again. He sighed loudly. Deathorox instantly felt a wave of dread engulf him. "I—I'm sorry to say this, but—" Duke couldn't continue.

"She has been kidnapped by a highly dangerous vampire and sorcerer named Tichondrius. She has been forced to work for him for our protection. As of now, we are creating an army to save her and kill Tichondrius before he can release his own growing army to the world," James finished.

Deathorox lowered his head. After so long, he finally knew who had saved him and hoped he would meet her at last…but now his hopes were crushed by the startling new information he just got. But he wasn't going to give up that easily. He raised his head high and growled. _Then I will join you in your conquest. I will do everything in my power to convince my brethren to join this war. I will also try to convince my father if he can help. _

Duke could not believe what he was hearing. Many times, he heard Melissa talk to Gloria about the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, a big favorite of the dragon-lover. Melissa had also mentioned Searinox many times, telling Gloria about the colossal beast that supposedly had power that rivaled that of even a god. Melissa always mentioned his great power, saying that he could probably easily overpower the _entire_ team. To be told that it was possible for the great beast to help them gave Duke the most hope he had ever had.

"Thank you, Deathorox. We all really appreciate this," James said. "In return, we'll make sure that you meet Melissa."

_Thank you. I will be back within a few days. I'm hoping my brethren and father are willing to help, _Deathorox assured them.

"We will wait for your return," James said.

Deathorox nodded and turned his back on them. He spread his wings and took off.

"Did you know that Melissa helped Deathorox, Duke?" James wondered, looking at the bluish white speck that was Deathorox in the distance.

"No. She never told me anything about that," Duke admitted. "It seems I'm not the only dragon who wants Melissa back."

"Yes. It seems," James said. He looked at Duke and said, "Duke, perhaps you should go back and rest."

"Yeah I should. But I guess I just can't rest with all the stuff that's going on." Duke was quiet for a few seconds before asking, "How's Gloria?"

"She seems to be doing fine for now. But it'll be a long time before she returns to normal."

"I know it will. But a month long of rest will help her. Just watch over her, James."

"You know I will."

Duke turned around and headed back to the base. James looked out to the horizon, watching the sun take its time to raise high in the sky.

* * *

_Ugh…what happened? Where am I? _Melissa thought.

At last she opened her eyes. She looked at her surroundings and noticed that she was in another cell, not in her own. She felt something wrapped around her back and chest. She tried to get up but a sharp pain forced her to stay lying down on her chest. She groaned as the pain briefly intensified and then died down. She heard someone come to her side and realized that it was Reptile. He looked overjoyed to see her. "Melissa, you're finally awake!" he whispered loudly.

"Reptile…where am I? And what happened?" Melissa asked.

"You fainted from the torture that was inflicted upon you. And you're in my cell. I moved you here so I could take care of you for the meantime."

"How long have I been out?"

"You've been out for two days."

"Two days??"

"Yep. Two days. I'm just glad you're ok now."

"Tichondrius didn't even ask for me?"

"No. He hasn't asked for me or you. Maybe he's giving you a break…"

"I doubt it. But Reptile, thanks for helping me."

"No problem Melissa." Reptile smiled and actually took Melissa's hand.

This took her by surprise. She wasn't sure how to react in return. All she did was return his smile. She was glad that she had met Reptile here in Tichondrius's fortress. He was the only person who gave her hope that soon she would escape along with him. She owed him so much for not only being such a good friend, but saved her life not once but twice. He was a very good friend, just like Gloria and everyone else. She was going to do whatever it took to get Reptile out. It was the least she could do for all he had done for her.

She began to think that Reptile liked her but more than a friend. She began to believe that he was in love with her. It was almost unexpected but somehow Melissa figured it would happen. Unfortunately, she could not love him in return, for all her love belonged to Duke. She didn't ask him if he liked her though. She knew Reptile would tell her when he was ready. For now, she would keep it to herself.

"I don't know where I'd be without you," Melissa commented.

Reptile smiled again. "Same here. I'm going to stay with you until you get better."

"Thanks again."

"But I need to get a few things. I'll be back."

"Alright then."

Reptile got up and left the cell, locking the door. Melissa sighed loudly and tried to get up again but intense pain brought her back down. Her back was still severely damaged but it was free of infection, thanks to Reptile. But Melissa felt something else was wrong. While she was unconscious, she had some kind of vision. She saw Sylan go into her cell, take out a syringe, and inject something in her neck. She wasn't sure if it was just a dream or if it happened for real. She was just worried what, if it were true, was it that was injected into her neck. Little did she know that a new virus inside her would soon transform her into a beast of rage.


	25. Searinox, Lord of the Blue Eyes

Chapter XXIV: Searinox, Lord of the Blue-Eyes White Dragons

* * *

Three days later…

* * *

James was still waiting for the return of Deathorox, hoping that his kind would join them in the war as well as his father, Searinox. They needed all the firepower they could get.

While waiting for the dragon's return, James did a little more research on the Blue-Eyes White Dragon to learn more about them. With the help of Duke and his giant book of the history of monsters, he was able to acquire a ton of information.

The Blue-Eyes White Dragon was and still is a symbol for power and good fortune in many cultures. Some see it as a god and others see it as a beast that should be feared but revered as well. But others see it as yet another part of the Devil since many dragons are seen that way by certain people. These people went on a hunting spree and killed many of the sacred white dragons. Several different cultures tried to protect the dragons but to no avail. The dragons were known to be peaceful, kind, and intelligent beings and the people took this as a weakness. But they were proven wrong. The dragons were far more powerful than the humans were led to believe and after the killings, the dragons began to fight. They caused immense destructions, killing millions of humans who arose against them. The dragons were merciful towards their worshippers and towards people who did not wish to harm their kind. Naturally the humans lost the war and they suffered greatly for it. Since those killings, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon is one of the rarest dragons to see around. The reason that they're rare is because the Blue-Eyes do not mate as often as many other types of dragons do. In fact, having a wrymling is like a blessing to the dragons. Although they have a dislike for humans, often times they will show mercy and allow one to leave unless they feel threatened by the human. Finally, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon is still revered by many cultures.

James found the Blue-Eyes White Dragon to be an interesting beast to read about, even though he wasn't really interested in dragons as Melissa and Duke were. During his free time, he had also learned more about Searinox and how he came to be Lord of the Blue-Eyes.

While the Blue-Eyes is a symbol of power and good fortune, Searinox is the symbol for ultimate power. Many cultures revere him as a god and even performed sacrifices for him to please him like many would do with a real god. Some of these people have actually been lucky enough to catch a glimpse or even stand face to face with the mighty dragon. Many of the eyewitnesses say he is a _massive_ dragon, about the size of a twenty story building. He supposedly has _twenty-one_ heads that shares the massive body and has mighty powers. It is said that Searinox was created from the god, Slifer himself. He was created to guard this world and make sure no evil arose to conquer this earth. It is unknown how the race of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon was created but it is said it all started with Searinox and that without him, the bluish white dragons would not exist today. He is indeed a dragon to behold.

James was in another room examining more about the Blue-Eyes when Metruzahk came in and said, "I apologize for my interruption, James, but Deathorox has returned."

James was filled with relief. He thanked Metruzahk, dismissed the Vahki leader, and went to go and retrieve Duke. He knew the dragon expert would want to see more of the Blue-Eyes White Dragons. James told Duke of the dragon's arrival and asked him to join him as he went to greet their new allies. Duke agreed to come and walked alongside James after a quick change. The two men walked outside, where they were greeted by a familiar dragon. _Greetings. I have returned with all the dragons I could gather. They are ready to fight by your side to not only save your friend, but defeat and kill Tichondrius_, Deathorox said.

"We are pleased to know that you have brought more of your kind. We need all the allies we can get," James said.

_But of course that isn't all I brought. I also brought my father._

"You brought…your father?" James said in utter amazement.

_Indeed._ Deathorox waited a few more seconds before saying, _Behold, my father. Searinox the Lord of the Blue-Eyes!_

At that moment, a massive shadow blanketed the entire area, blocking the sun. The beast landed in front of James and the others, his wings disturbing the ground and sending dirt and rocks flying all over the place. James could not believe his eyes. The beast before him was indeed true from legend. He really did have twenty-one heads, each with a three-layered crest, blue eyes, and razor sharp teeth. All of them had a black insignia on their heads, each unique. Searinox had two segmented arms with three thick, sharp claws on each. His two legs were also segmented and also had three thick, sharp claws. He had a curved sharp claw on both foot joints. His body was segmented except for his necks. The scales under each neck were also segmented. His wings were massive, probably the size of his body, which was nearly 30, 35 or more feet in length.

James, Duke, Metruzahk, Lavflame, Dark Magician, and Sifyre looked high up at the dragon that literally towered before them. Searinox got down on his arms and lowered one of his many heads. Why Searinox had twenty-one heads was beyond James and Duke. _I assumed you are the leader of this group, yes?_ he asked, looking directly at James.

"Um…y—yes, I am. But our real leader is inside resting at the moment. I am only temporary," James responded.

_Then get your leader out. I want to speak with him_, Searinox ordered.

"_Her_. Our leader is a female and as of now, she is not well enough to come," James replied.

_Then I will want to speak with her later. I must know of everything that has happened since the kidnapping of your friend_, Searinox said.

"You will get your chance to speak with her soon. Until then, you will refer to me as the leader of this group."

_So be it. When is it that you're planning on saving your friend?_ Searinox asked.

"Actually…" began James. In fact, he nor Gloria had thought of when to save Melissa and Reptile. They agreed that when their army was big enough, they would think of how to storm Tichondrius's fortress and save their friends. They didn't think now would be the good time to storm the fortress. They knew that Tichondrius's fortress would be heavily guarded and they would most likely have to face Tichondrius himself, which is why they were waiting until their army was big and powerful.

_It seems you don't have a plan for that yet_, Searinox guessed.

"Aye, we haven't. We don't think is it the right time to attack just yet. We have been cautious after suffering from a few things we did wrong," James admitted.

_You are a wise man as well as your leader it seems. But waiting too long will be your greatest mistake. Tichondrius's army is most likely growing much faster than yours. You mustn't wait too long._

"We're trying to make our army as fast as we can. But another ally of ours, Hellmos, suggested that we shouldn't make our army too fast for that is the downfall of an army if we concentrate too much on pure power."

_Hellmos? The dragon of fire?_

"Indeed. He, Timaeus, and Critias has joined our army along with the metallic dragons. Do you know the three dragons?"

_I had allied myself with them long ago in a legendary war. I must speak with Hellmos at once as well as your true leader when she has recovered fully. Also, although I do suggest you make your army fast, I agree with Hellmos. But you must get your army ready soon if you wish to see your friend again…alive._

James nodded in reply. He was about to ask how Searinox was going to be able to get in, but then he remembered what the three dragons did and remained silent. Sure enough, Searinox transformed from a massive, great dragon to what's known as a dragon spawn, a creature with the lower body of a muscular dragon (without the wings) and the upper body of a dragon humanoid. He had two arms with five claws on his upper body and his head, arms, chest, shoulders, and stomach on his upper body were covered in armor. His lower body remained completely naked, with only spines running down the length of his back. The claws of his four strong legs were black and thick. His scales were blue, like his dragon form. His eyes were the same dark blue color. He held a staff that ended with two blades that curved up and forward on both ends.

James was amazed of the new form. He had never seen a dragon spawn nor did he know that they even existed. Snapping out of his surprise, James led Searinox to the entrance of the base. The dragon was able to fit through the entrance now that he was only a foot taller than James.

The other Blue-Eyes White Dragons, including Deathorox, transformed into the same blue dragon spawn. They each had different armor and were armed with different deadly weapons, from a deadly, thick sword to a staff with a moon crested blade. Duke led them to the base, where they would reside until the war against Tichondrius officially began.

* * *

Melissa felt something weird inside her. It wasn't very easy to explain, but she felt something as if another being resided within her. Confused and almost frightened of the new presence within her, she decided to keep it to herself. She didn't want worry Reptile even further. 

She was still lying down on her chest on the bed in Reptile's cell. Her back still sent waves of intense pain when she moved, but it wasn't as bad as before. She felt pathetic as Reptile had to bring food and water for her since she couldn't do it herself. Not without risking making her back worse. Reptile had changed the bloody bandages the day before and noticed that the wounds were free of infection and very slowly healing. But Melissa wished that the wounds would just disappear to get rid of the pain and the helplessness.

She sighed loudly and closed her eyes, ready to sleep as she had always done since the day she got here.

* * *

Reptile was giving orders to some of the sentries responsible for keeping watch in the tall towers of the fortress. They warned everyone of any incoming danger and would start attacking the enemy with long range weapons. Reptile was now responsible for teaching new sentries of how to guard, warn others, and other things sentries were responsible for. He was also in charge of making sure they did their job. So far he didn't like his new mission, but there wasn't much else he could do. 

All he wanted to do was go back and join his already severely injured friend in his cell. Melissa's wounds had begun to heal, but not enough to stop waves of intense pain from tormenting her. He felt helpless as she groaned and screamed in pain if she moved too suddenly or tried to get up. He did what he could to help her, but he wanted to end her torment. He was still furious with what Tichondrius did, but Melissa had said to just let it go. No amount of rage would help them; it would only cloud them from what they needed to do and corrupt them. Soon, they would become just like Tichondrius.

Reptile knew she was right, but he just couldn't take it anymore. He yearned for freedom after so many years of being with Tichonrius. He yearned for revenge as much as freedom. He longed for this to be all over.

Although it seemed like it, he hadn't given up hope just yet. He still knew Melissa's friends would come. He knew that then, he would get his freedom at last. Only then, would he also help them kill Tichondrius and rid the world of the evil vampiric sorcerer.

But that was in the future. Now, he had to concentrate on the present and do his job to avoid punishment and to help Melissa in any way possible.

* * *

Melissa heard someone walking towards Reptile's cell. She was expecting a guard to tell her that Tichondrius wanted to see her. But surprisingly it was Drake. She thought he had already left to continue helping her friends. 

He unlocked the cell door with his teeth, which he used to hold the key that Reptile had asked him to hold. He closed the cell door after he entered. "Hello, Melissa. How are you feeling?" he asked.

This was probably the first time that Drake and Melissa had time to talk. "I'm fine," she replied. "And you?"

"I'm doing ok," Drake answered. "How is your back?"

"Not so good. It still hurts like hell."

He sighed. "Eventually it'll all stop."

"I hope." Then Melissa decided to ask a question that was personal to her. "Drake…I have a question to ask you about Reptile."

Drake's expression instantly turned to concern. "Sorry if I made it sound bad. It's not something to get concerned about. It's just something that's been in my mind for a while," Melissa continued.

"What?"

Melissa sighed before she continued. "Drake, I have a feeling that Reptile likes me…but likes me more than a friend."

The crystal dragon seemed surprised. "He never told me about that. What's gives you that feeling?"

"It's kind of hard to explain but it's just the way he treats me sometimes. He reminds me so much of how Duke is. I dunno, I might be wrong. But I just have that feeling that he does like me more than a friend."

"I really don't know what to say. He never told me about something like that. But…I have noticed some things that he does that he's never done before. But I can't say if that's a sign for love or something."

"Eh…might be just me. But I just can't get rid of that feeling. I'm hoping he isn't in love with me."

"Why?"

"Because…"

"Ah…because of Duke."

Melissa nodded. "I like Reptile but only as a friend. I wouldn't want to hurt his feelings if I were to say that, although he should already know my love is with Duke."

"I have no doubt that he knows. But I guess that not even that will change his love for you…if that's the case."

"I dunno."

"I'll see if perhaps he can talk about it with me. I'll be sure not to mention what you're feeling."

"Thanks Drake but you don't need to do that."

"Yes well….I'm interested in how he really feels. Also, I'm worried that this might affect him. Although I can't say how really…"

"You'll figure it out. For now though, let it be. Give him some time. He's been worried and angry and tired."

"I know."

"When will you return to my friends?"

"I will soon. I should be leaving in another day or two if nothing comes up. I must say Melissa…your friends are strong and smart."

"I know they are. That's what makes them such good friends and allies."

"Indeed. They will make a fine army."

"They will. They will defeat Tichondrius once and for all."

"Certainly. Well I must be on my way."

"What is it you do in here anyway?"

"Help Reptile when he needs it. I must check on him right now."

"Ok then Drake. It was nice talking with you."

"Likewise. I'll return later. I'll be sure to tell Reptile you are ok."

"Thanks."

Drake nodded. He opened the cell door and left, locking the door afterwards. Melissa once again got herself comfortable, ignoring the new pain pulsing from her back, and closed her eyes. She was asleep again within a few minutes.

* * *

Gloria was fast asleep, oblivious to what was going on. For the previous several days, she had not gotten enough sleep; therefore, she was always tired. But at last for the past three days, she had gotten the sleep she had longed for. 

But it was interrupted by someone trying to shake her awake. She opened her eyes and found James staring at her, trying to get her to wake up. She groaned loudly. "Gloria, I'm sorry for waking you but our new ally wishes to speak with you now," he explained.

"Who?" Gloria wondered.

"Searinox."

This instantly woke her up. "Searinox?! _The_ Searinox?"

James seemed to expect that. He also seemed tired of hearing it. "Yes, _the_ Searinox. He, along with his only son and other Blue-Eyes White Dragons, has joined our army. But now Searinox wishes to speak with you only about what has happened."

"Why can't you explain?"

"I can but he prefers to speak with the real leader, who is you of course. Don't ask me why."

Gloria decided to go and see this for herself. Melissa had always told her of Searinox and of her most favorite dragon, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. But Gloria always considered them a legend. After all, they were extremely rare and hardly anyone had seen them.

"Tell him I will come," she said.

James nodded in reply and left, giving her some privacy. Gloria slowly got up and changed into something more comfortable. She exited her room and headed to the third floor, using the elevator (isn't as complex as the ones almost everyone uses nowadays) that ran on some kind of spell that gave everything in the base the energy it needed. It seemed Leon and Jessica had a spell to solve every issue.

She waited patiently for the elevator to reach its destination. During the wait, she wondered about why Searinox wanted to speak with her personally just to find out what had happened. She knew James could easily explain the situation to him so why didn't Searinox just talk to him? As much as she wanted to know, she decided not to bring it up. It wasn't that big of a deal.

After several minutes, she reached the third floor. She walked down the long hallway and entered a big room on the left. When she entered she noticed a massive blue thing on four legs. It had a muscular body, thick black claws on each foot, and an upright front body. She wasn't exactly sure what it was.

The beast noticed her entrance and said, "At last, the legendary leader of the World's Guardians."

_Legendary leader?_ Gloria thought. She had never been referred to as a legendary leader, but she was flattered by the compliment. "Um…thanks for the compliment," Gloria smiled. "So…you are…"

"I am Searinox, the Lord of the Blue-Eyes White Dragons," the beast said.

"Well…no offence but what are you supposed to be?" Gloria wondered.

"Heh, none taken. I have taken the form of a dragon spawn. I am much too large to fit in here in my original form."

"Ah."

"Now…we have matters to discuss." Searinox remained silent for a few seconds and then guessed, "I assume you're wondering why I preferred to speak with you than the one taking your place at the moment. Am I correct?"

_Did he just read my mind or is it just that obvious?_ the vampire wondered.

"I didn't read your mind," Searinox said, reading Gloria's expression. She was impressed by how well he was able to tell what was in a person's mind just by their expressions. "I assumed you were thinking that because it seemed like an odd request to the temporary leader and I figured you would be wondering why."

"Well…yes I was."

"The reason is I prefer to speak with the main leader of any group. I know that I will get the entire story with no details left out. After all, it's the leader's job to have a keen eye and a good memory to be able to lead. Also, I wanted to meet you."

"Meet me?"

"Indeed. Previous allies of yours have told me the story of your last war."

_My previous allies? How does he know about the Nerubians, the thunder lizards, and the fire horses?_ Gloria thought.

"How do I know your allies? Well, I have met many monsters of different kinds over the years. I previously had my dragons help them in other situations. They have become allies of ours too. They told me all about your intelligent and wise nature and how you led the others to victory a few years ago against Ation and the seemingly invincible Cyberdemon."

Gloria grinned. She felt good about herself from what Searinox was saying and was also flattered by what her other allies had said about her.

"They have also told me of your other friends, who are also strong and intelligent beings. They know everyone is powerful but they believe you and Melissa are indeed the strongest. You because your very experienced in the ways of the vampire as well as very skilled in the power of darkness. Melissa because she is experienced in the power of the dragon and electricity. You are all about skill and stealth. Melissa is all about power and speed."

Gloria felt proud for not only herself but for the rest of her friends as well. They all had their own specialty.

"That is why I also wanted to meet you personally. To finally meet the great, powerful leader my allies speak of."

"Well, Melissa has told me much about you as well as the rare, legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon. She has told me about your massive and almighty power as well as your wisdom and intelligence. She also reveres you and the Blue-Eyes White Dragon because of you and your dragons' great power. I have wanted to meet you and your rare dragon. Never would I have thought that you would want to join our army."

"Well I didn't know of what was going on until my son came to me and pleaded for me to join you."

"Your son? I thought it was rare for a Blue-Eyes White Dragon to even have a wrymling."

"Heh, well I'm no ordinary Blue-Eyes White Dragon. I can't exactly say what I am, but I do know that I am a multi-headed dragon with the blood of a Blue-Eyes White Dragon."

"So you're not a Blue-Eyes?"

"No. It may seem confusing, but I act as any Blue-Eyes White Dragon, but technically I'm not."

"Well who's your son?"

"His name is Deathorox. He was the one who convinced me and many others to join you."

"Why did he come here in the first place?"

"Because he seeks someone that is part of your group."

"Who?"

"He seeks Melissa, the one that has been kidnapped from what James has told me."

Gloria had not expected it. What had Melissa done that would get Deathorox to find and join them? "But why?"

Searinox sighed loudly. "Long ago, humans raided our home, killing my mate and kidnapping my son when he was still very young, about several months old. I was devastated and hunted down those humans. They told me that he had been auctioned off like a piece of meat and they didn't know where he was now. I was enraged and tortured them to death. But that didn't satisfy me. I still yearned to have my son again. I went on a journey to find him, killing any humans I could find. But eventually I had to stop. I did not want to cause a war. For years I waited for his return, hoping that he was alive and well.

"From what Deathorox has told me," the dragon continued, "he finally escaped after being a slave for another human. But during his escape, his wings were injured. He didn't know how to hunt because he wasn't taught how. Eventually, he began to suffer from hunger, infection to his wings, and soon hydration and exhaustion. He collapsed in a forest, near a street. Eventually someone found him when he was near death and took him to her home. She took care of him in secrecy, making sure that he grew into a healthy adult dragon. Unfortunately, she feared that she would be discovered before he could become an adult. He first learned how to fly and hunt. Afterwards, as much as she hated to do it, she had to let him go. They said their good-byes and he left to find a new home.

"Eventually after another year or two, he ended up finding me when he found another one of his kind. At last, Deathorox and I were reunited. I remember when he told me his story about what happened and how he vowed to find her and thank her for helping him. He never did find out her name somehow, but the memories of what she did were seared into his mind. Then recently an ally of mine told me of your mission and the person that Deathorox seeks. He was grateful when he learned of her whereabouts. But he was angry and upset of her kidnapping. Since then, he is determined to get your friend back and pay her back for what she did. After all, he is still in her debt."

"Wow," Gloria commented." I never thought she would do that." _Normally she doesn't like to help others, mostly because she doesn't have the patience to deal with them or because they just piss her off…not surprisingly. _

"That is why I am here. Not only to help get your friend back but to kill this Tichondrius. I fear he threatens to eradicate my kind."

"You should be concerned. But he might've tried to get you to join him and if you're refused, he'd kill you. Ad it's not only dragons he's after. He'll eradicate any races that refuse to join him or he sees as ineffective to his army."

"Nonetheless, he threatens this entire world. Earth does not belong to him. Earth belongs to the living things that the gods created."

"Indeed it does. I am pleased to have you as an ally, Searinox. It gives us a better chance at winning this war."

"Likewise. Now tell me, what has happened since she was kidnapped?"

Gloria sighed. She preferred not to speak about the events that had occurred. It brought back many bad memories. But Searinox wanted to know everything, so she just told him everything except any very personal events that she never spoke about with anyone except James.

Searinox sighed in distress. "It's worse than I thought. Poor girl….she doesn't deserve to go through this."

"But she goes through this because she wants to protect us," Gloria clarified.

"She has a strong heart and clearly cares about all of you. Deathorox will not be happy with this. He might try to go off on his own."

"But he can't! He'll be killed if he does that."

"That's why I'll have to keep this to myself. He mustn't know about what has happened. I fear he will go there alone on a suicide mission to save her."

"I won't tell him anything. I'll be sure to tell everyone else to do the same."

"Thank you."

"No problem. The safety of my allies is my priority as well as the safety of my friends."

"You are indeed a wise leader. Many wouldn't pay as much attention to their allies as you."

"Thanks."

"I know you have been resting and I apologize for bothering you. Please, go back and rest. You'll need it."

"I will. It was nice to at last meet you, Searinox."

The dragon smiled. "Likewise."

Gloria smiled back and turned around to head to the exit. Before she left, she heard Searinox whisper, "Slifer, help her."

She already knew it was meant for her kidnapped friend. She left the room and headed back to the first floor. After meeting Searinox, Gloria began to feel more hope that she would get a strong army, save Melissa, and kill Tichondrius once and for all. Very soon, she would be able to save her friend and then after a fast rest, unleash an attack upon the fortress. Soon, the tables would turn and she as well as everyone would at last get their vengeance.


	26. Jessica's Premonition II

Chapter XXV: Jessica's Premonition II

_She could see six beings fighting with spell, sword, claw, and teeth. With a closer look, she realized that it was Onurahk, Dark Magician, a werewolf from Sifyre's clan named Shadow, James, Duke, and Caitlin. Then she saw a familiar sight: a brown scaled dragon with a well muscled body and powerful fire and electricity attacks. They were fighting in a barren wasteland, rocks, cliffs, bones, and dead plants littering the ground. She wasn't sure why they were there but she figured it was the home of a new ally. The wasteland wasn't sunny, but dark as if it were night. _

_Melissa was fighting all six of the beings alone, avoiding their attacks and fighting back. But it seemed like she was in great pain, even though she had very little wounds on her body. For some reason, her chest was wrapped with bandages, which also covered her back. _

_The dragon retaliated with powerful streams of fire and deadly bolts of lightning. Her enemies did the same. Shadow jumped onto her back and ripped it to shreds. Melissa screamed in agony, roaring like she never had before. _

_Suddenly, she could feel pain exploding from nowhere; pain that she never felt before. She realized that the pain she was feeling must be the very pain that Melissa was feeling at this moment in time. _

_Then Dark Magician blasted the already injured dragon with a blast of his dark magic. Onurahk jumped onto the cliff behind Melissa and began digging his screwdriver-like weapons into the rock, which caused the tip of the cliff to break off and fall on top of her. She roared as she began to fall. The rocks prevented her from flying to safety. She fell with the rocks, not able to do anything to slow or stop the fall. She slammed into the ground with over a ton of rocks falling on top of her. _

_Jessica could hear James, Duke, and Caitlin saying something but she could barely understand what they were saying. But by the looks on their faces, they were worried but ready if Melissa were to get up and continue their fight. _

_And continue the fight she did._

_The pile of rocks shook from Melissa's movement. The top exploded from some kind of force, sending rocks flying into the air. James, Duke, Caitlin, Onurahk, the Dark Magician, and Shadow had to jump out of the way to avoid the rocks. Melissa stood at the top of the pile, wounded from the many rocks that fell upon her. She was in greater pain, her wings were torn, many parts of her body had been torn open from the sharp, jagged rocks, and now she was bleeding freely. She looked at her enemies with pained eyes and roared loudly._

_Suddenly something occurred that Jessica had never seen before. Blue scales started to cover her body like a ripple, quickly changing brown scales to blue. Melissa's big crest split in two to become two horns that curved down and then up. Her thin spikes on the sides of her jaws literally sunk into the sides of her head. Long, dark blue thick dreadlocks like that of a Predator sprouted from the back of her head, some with big black rings that had golden edges. Four blades sprouted from four different places; one on the top of her nose, one on her chin, and two on the sides of her head, both right under her eyes. The blades curved back and forward. The same kind of silver blades sprouted on her shoulders, three on her elbows, and foot joints. She also had muscular wings, sharp teeth, claws on her hands that curved back slightly and then forward like a hook, and then the end of the tail that had three spikes that were like bone scythes which circled around the middle. Finally, the five claws of her feet also curved back and then forward but the two in the front were the largest and the ones on the sides were the smallest. Why there were five were beyond Jessica. _

_Shadow, James, Duke, Onurahk, Dark Magician, and Caitlin stared in awe. But Melissa took this as her chance to retaliate. She opened her jaws wide and roared loudly. Then a sphere of fire began to form. "Guys, get out of the way!" Caitlin warned. _

_Everyone instantly began to move. But it was in vain. Thick vines made of black fire erupted from the ground and wrapped themselves around Shadow, Onurahk, and James. Caitlin, Duke, and the Dark Magician quickly evaded the vines but they attacked the vines to try and free their comrades. The vines were wrapped tightly around the three captive allies. The sphere growing in Melissa's jaws was getting bigger and the center was growing brighter. The flames around the sphere grew fiercer. _

_While Duke, Caitlin, and the Dark Magician tried all they could to save their allies but they ran out of time. Melissa finally fired the sphere but instead of a stream of fire, it became a bright beam with flames circling around it. The massive fire beam blasted Shadow, Onurahk, and James. _

_Jessica could feel Melissa's feelings now. She felt a mixture of feelings, from rage to sadness. She could sense that Melissa regretted doing this, as she had the previous encounters. But she had no choice. _

_Jessica saw Caitlin run to James, worried. Duke ran to Onurahk and the Dark Magician went to Shadow. The three survived thanks to a spell the Dark Magician had used to protect them. Melissa did not give them the chance to see if their allies were ok. She quickly took to the air and opened her jaws again to fire a beam of frost this time. Onurahk, James, and Shadow were instantly frozen. This was something that Melissa had never done. She always attacked with electricity and fire, never ice. "Shit! We have to defrost them and quick," Duke cursed._

"_But how? We can't defrost them fast enough," Caitlin reminded._

"_And you won't!" Melissa yelled. She flew down towards one of the ice structures, wings folded to help her fall faster, arms and legs folded to allow more speed, the blade on the top of her nose ready. She evidently flew with her eyes closed. "No! She will choose at random. She's going to kill one of them!" the Dark Magician realized. "Guys, hurry and defrost them! I will keep her at bay!"_

_The magician held out his green staff and fired an orb of black energy. The orb blasted the diving beast. But it didn't even faze her. In fact, it didn't even seem to cause any injury. "What?" the magician observed in confusion._

_Then when Melissa dived past him, Dark Magician was blasted by an unseen force. He smashed into the ground. _

_Caitlin and Duke were using any fire spells they knew to defrost their frozen allies. But then they felt a massive invisible force hit them. They were blown several feet away, dazed from the sudden attack. They both looked back to see if there was something there that could explain the attack but what they were about to see would horrify them._

_Melissa continued her dive towards one of the frozen statues. She did not know which she would hit or which would die. It was a random choice. After nearly two minutes of just diving, she at last hit something. She felt ice shatter on her body. She slid hard on the ground and continued to do so until she finally hit a rock._

_She got up and shook herself free of any dirt, rocks, and broken ice on her body. When she looked back, she saw who the one she killed was. _

_Caitlin and Duke looked back to see Melissa slam into one of their frozen allies. One of them shattered into a million pieces. There was no chance for that ally to live. "No!!" Duke yelled loudly. Caitlin felt a growing dread within her. _

_The ally that was unfortunately killed when frozen was Shadow, the second in rank in Sifyre's clan. _

_This was the first time Melissa had killed any being that was part of Gloria's army. Melissa knew they would be angry about this, but she was sick and tired of having to run into them. She was sick and tired of them being stupid enough to fight her when they knew she didn't want to fight them. They would be angry about her killing one of their allies, but she had long since been enraged at them for fighting her. Why did they have to fight her every time they encountered each other was beyond Melissa. In fact, Jessica herself had been wondering the same thing. _

_Almost filled with rage, Caitlin, Duke, and the Dark Magician charge up their attack and combine them. The combined attack of fire, dark magic, and ice blasted Melissa. She was thrown several feet away and landed on her side, weakened from the powerful attack._

_Caitlin and Duke then quickly defrosted James and Onurahk to prevent another random attack upon the two allies. The Dark Magician continued his attack against Melissa, who retaliated with her own attacks. But the Dark Magician's energy was beginning to decrease while Melissa's energy had been rejuvenated when she had transformed. If the Dark Magician didn't get any help soon, he would lose._

_Finally James and Onurahk were defrosted and they joined Dark Magician in the fight. Melissa's new form was different from her other forms. She was much faster, more clever, and stronger. Probably not as strong as her other forms, but powerful nonetheless. _

_The fight went on for nearly two hours with James and his allies' energy now running low while Melissa was still able to fight. To end the fight quickly, James, Onurahk, Caitlin, Duke, and the Dark Magician once again combined their most powerful attacks and blasted Melissa with all their power. An explosion followed and she fell from the sky, wounded greatly from the attack. _

_She did not get up from the attack. James and his allies cheered in victory. But then they could see Melissa slowly get up. "Melissa, why not just give up?" James asked. "You can't defeat us now. We've gotten much stronger and no matter how many forms you get, you will not be able to defeat us and our great army!"_

"_That's what you think you son of a bitch!" Melissa yelled, her voice changing from normal to a deep, demon like voice. _

_Jessica sensed something very bad awaken within Melissa. It wasn't under the dragon's control and Jessica didn't know where it came from. But it was about to change Melissa and unleash her true rage._

_Suddenly Melissa roared deafeningly and began to transform again, but into a monstrosity. While she continued to roar, bone spikes erupted from the sides and bottom of her jaws, the upper jaw remaining the same. The bone spikes helped morph the jaws and chest together, giving Melissa large jaws. More bone spikes erupted from her chest, blood now gushing from where the spikes erupted from. The spikes opened up and to her friends' horror, a thick piece of flesh fell out and a long, crimson snakelike thing erupted from the opening in her chest. The thing had long sharp teeth with two scissor-like blades on the sides of its mouth, which were attached to limbs that curved back and then forward. The thing had no eyes whatsoever. After a sharp roar, it literally sunk back into the dragon's chest and the bones spikes closed over the opening. _

_Then four spider-like legs burst from Melissa's back in between her wings. The legs ended in long, thin needle sharp black claws and they weren't covered in skin. Instead they were all pure, pulsing muscle. Not long after the legs erupted from her back, two long, muscular extra arms burst right above her shoulders, both ending with three needle-sharp black claws and also covered in muscle. Both also had a bone spike on the elbow joint. _

_Then two more muscular arms burst from her sides right next to her main arms, but smaller. Both had sharp bone claws and still covered in muscle, no skin. Then another thing burst from the end of her tail. Another snakelike thing came out from the middle, where the spikes circled around it. The thing had curved sharp teeth with armor-like plating on the head. This one was crimson as well and was covered in blood for some reason. But it still horrified her friends. It also had yellow eyes which glared at the enemies._

_Four more long, spider-like legs burst from her back, between both shoulders. This time, they were somehow made of steel. The legs were segmented, ending in curved silver claws similar to the ones on her hands and feet, and was resting on her back as if they were wings. When she moved them, they would come up and stay upright. _

_Then from between the wings and spider-like legs, another thing burst from her back. This one was also a snakelike thing covered in pulsing muscles. The thing had sharp teeth and its lower jaw was split into two mandibles. Its glaring eyes glowed crimson red unlike the other things that were on Melissa's body. Finally, another thing erupted from the dragon's back right next to the new snakelike beast. This one had spikes that curved back and then forward and also had serrated undersides. The spikes surrounded its circular mouth, which contained circles of teeth. Its body was also pure muscles. Other than the horrifying mutations that had occurred, Melissa's arms, legs, tail, wings, head (including upper jaw), and claws on both hands and feet remained the same. _

_Caitlin, James, Dark Magician, and Onurahk were horrified by the mutation. Words could not describe Duke's utter horror with the mutation. Jessica did not know what was going through his mind at the moment, but she sensed great repulsion, terror, and disturbed feelings. They all looked at what used to be their friend/enemy. _

Now, let's finish this!!_ Melissa yelled in a deep, demon-like voice. Although her lower jaw had morphed together with her chest, she was able to speak using her mind, just as she had been able to do when she first combined with Gloria and became the blue dragon. She roared loudly and prepared to fight. James and his allies also got ready to fight, despite the new mutations. In a matter of seconds, both sides were running towards each other and jumped into the air to face each other in what could be their very last battle…_

It was 2: 35 A.M. when Jessica woke up with a loud gasp of air. She tried to scream but couldn't get herself to do so. She was sweating, her heart was pounding, and her breathing was rapid. Her eyes filled with tears from what she had just dreamt about.

"Jessica? Jessica?? Are you ok?" someone said beside her.

Jessica looked to her right and noticed Leon by her side, concern obvious in his blue eyes. Almost immediately, Jessica buried her face into his chest and wrapped her arms around him, crying uncontrollably. Leon could only wrap his arms around his scared spouse and say soothing words to calm her down. He didn't know what she had dreamt about that had scared her so bad, but he figured it was another premonition and it wasn't good.

Leon and Jessica were in their room at the base. Leon had been studying new warlock spells from a book while Jessica had gone to bed. He was doing his studying when he could hear Jessica mumble things. It didn't bother him at first but he began to worry when she was tossing around the bed, making groaning noises. He began to worry that Jessica was having another nightmare. He walked to her side and tried to wake her up, but was unsuccessful. He tried several more times but was again unsuccessful. Then he grabbed her hand and held it close to him, whispering, "I'm here for you Jessica. Don't worry."

And now Jessica was crying on his chest, terrified of an unknown nightmare. "It's ok Jessica," Leon kept whispering. "I'm here for you. Nothing will happen to you."

This continued for what felt like an hour to Leon, when it reality this went on for nearly ten minutes. Little by little, Jessica began to calm down. And eventually, she stopped crying.

"Jessica, please tell me. What did you dream about this time?" Leon asked.

"Leon, I saw such a horrible thing! I—I don't even know if I can talk about it…" Jessica trailed off. She was completely horrified by the appalling transformation of her friend in her dream.

"It's ok, Jess. It's ok. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Leon answered. He didn't want to push Jessica into doing something she didn't want to do.

"No…I'll tell you," Jessica added.

"But Jess—" Leon was about to protest.

"No. I'll tell you. You're the only person I feel comfortable talking to about this," Jessica said.

"Are you sure you want to speak about it?"

"Yeah, it'll take me some time."

"You have all the time in the world."

"Ok. It was another premonition. I don't know when this is supposed to occur but it'll happen soon. This is what happened. It all started out with James, Onurahk, the Dark Magician, Caitlin, Shadow, and Duke fighting Melissa again, not surprisingly. While they were fighting, I could sense how she felt with us fighting her. Leon, she's getting sick of fighting us. She's angry with us. She wants us to leave her alone and to just retreat if she approaches. And to be honest, I feel the same way."

"You're angry because we keep fighting her?"

"What's the point? She's going to get more hurt and we're going to get hurt and waste our energy. She's suffered enough as it is. We have as well."

"Perhaps this is something to discuss with Gloria. You're not the only one who feels that way."

"I know. But I don't know if I can do it myself…"

"You won't have to. I'll come with you. Now, what else happened in your premonition?"

"Oh right…well they were all fighting and then after a while, she transformed into something different. She became this raptor/dragon thing. She had blue scales, blades in various places, sharp claws, and a tail that had three bone scythes sticking out in a triangle formation. She was faster, a little stronger, and very clever. She used a frost attack and she ended up freezing James, Shadow, and Onurahk. Duke, the Dark Magician, and Caitlin tried to defrost them. But Melissa was able to attack first and—and—"

"And what?"

"Leon…she killed one of our allies."

"What??"

"She attacked at random. She didn't hit Onurahk or James, but she killed Shadow."

"I…I can't believe she would do something like that." Leon had never thought that Melissa would get to the point of killing their allies. He was hoping Shadow was the only ally of theirs that she would kill in the future.

"After she killed Shadow, the Dark Magician started fighting her alone while Duke and Caitlin were trying to defrost James and Onurahk. Once they were done, they all combined their attacks and blasted her. And then James said 'You can't defeat us. We're stronger.' And then Melissa said something but in a totally different voice. Her voice sounded like that of a demon. And then she transformed into a…a…Oh God I can't even begin to describe it."

"Then don't. You don't need to explain everything Jess."

"I know. But I want to tell you."

Leon sighed loudly. He didn't understand why Jessica couldn't just _drop it_ if she was horrified by whatever she had seen in her premonition. "Jess, if you don't want to—" he began.

"No I will tell you," Jessica interrupted. She began describing the nearly disturbing mutation of Melissa. She still didn't understand how or why she would turn into such a monstrosity, but she remembered sensing something dark taking over Melissa's body and mind. She also sensed that it wasn't under Melissa's control. She knew Tichondrius had done something to her, but she didn't know what. However, she still feared Melissa more than ever.

Leon was shocked by what Jessica was telling him. She also told him about what she had sensed. He figured out the same thing when she mentioned having a feeling that Tichondrius had done something to their friend.

"What can we do, Leon? Should we tell Gloria and the others?" Jessica asked.

"I…I don't know," Leon admitted. "We don't even know when it'll happen."

"I know. But we should let them know anyway. We have to try and stop this."

"This was a premonition right?"

"I'm pretty sure it was."

"Then we can tell them, but we can't change what will happen. You know that."

Jessica sighed loudly. She did know that she couldn't change destiny. But she just couldn't imagine something like this happening. "I know you don't want this to happen but we can't do anything about it," Leon said. "Sure, we can tell them, but they can't stop this from occurring. So in a way, there's no point."

"I guess you have a point…"

"If you want to tell the others, then go ahead. I'll come with you if you want."

"I think I will tell them when I believe it's supposed to happen. I don't think it'll help much but at least they will know."

"Ok then. Now get some sleep. And try to not have any nightmares."

Jessica gave him a slight smile and said, "I can't assure you that I won't have one, but I can try."

"Ok. Good night Jessica. I love you."

"Good night Leon. I love you too."

Leon kissed Jessica lightly on her forehead and walked back to his wooden small table to continue his study. Jessica watched him for several seconds and wondered if he was studying _too_ much. For the past few days, Leon had been busy studying his spells, learning new ones each day. She was beginning to worry that he would start becoming very stressed out from all the studying. Unknown to the others excluding Jessica, Leon still spoke to Zer'luukr, his trainer and master in the ways of the warlock. Leon was one of the very few who still spoke with his master (using a special spell) during these times. Leon was determined to learn as many spells as possible to prepare himself for the great battle that would come in the future. Jessica still worried that he was beginning to stress himself out.

_I can discuss that with him later,_ she thought. _For now, I'll leave him alone._

Finally Jessica lied down and closed her eyes, trying to go back to sleep despite her nightmare.

* * *

When he was sure that Jessica was asleep nearly an hour later, Leon quietly got up and left the room. He knew that Jessica said that she would tell the others when she felt the time was right, not that it would make much of a difference anyway. But Leon had the urge to tell Duke, his closest friend and the only guy out of everyone else that he talked to about many things, just like how Melissa would talk to Gloria many times about personal things. 

He walked down the hallway of the first floor and walked past a few doors, trying to be as quiet as possible. It was 3: 47 in the morning now. Leon was indeed very tired from all the studying he had done for the past few days and he hadn't gotten any sleep yet, but he was determined to speak with Duke. One might think that Duke or any other person would be asleep by now, but Leon had a feeling that the dragon in disguise might also be awake, studying new things that would help him in battle. Not only that, but Duke had recently developed insomnia, or difficulty of sleep. Ashley believed the sudden insomnia was caused by the events of the war since everyone was becoming extremely stressed out. Recent events were the reason for Duke's insomnia while the events made Gloria's insomnia worse.

Not only did Leon believe Duke's insomnia would keep him awake this early in the morning, but because they were close friends, they vowed to help each other when needed, no matter neither what time it was nor what the issue was, similar to what Gloria and Melissa did. Just as Leon helped Duke when he needed it most no matter what time of day, Duke would return the favor by doing the same. And now Leon felt he had to tell Duke about this premonition. Not only because it bothered him, but because Duke was part of it.

He continued quietly walking down the hallway when he stopped in front of a metal door to his right. He knocked lightly on the door. He heard the door unlock and his friend opened it slightly. He looked tired but it didn't look like he had been asleep. "Hey Duke, were you sleeping?" Leon asked.

"No, was trying to though," Duke admitted. "What's up?"

"I have something to tell you. But if you're trying to sleep, then I can wait until tomorrow," Leon admitted. He did want to speak with Duke, but then again he _could_ wait until tomorrow. _Except this battle might happen tomorrow. And I want to let Duke know about what will happen ASAP._

"No, no, come in," Duke opened the door, allowing Leon to come in.

The warlock entered without further protest. When Duke closed the door, he asked again, "So what's up?"

"Duke…Jessica just told me that…she had another premonition," Leon finally said. He sat on a wooden chair nearby while Duke sat on the edge of his bed.

"What? Was it about the last battle?" Leon had told Duke about the first premonition Jessica had. Since the first one, Duke had been very concerned about the last fight and even more concerned about Gloria's fate, whether she would die at the last confrontation.

"No it wasn't on the last battle. I don't know when this is supposed to happen but I think it's supposed to be soon."

"Well…what happened?"

Leon went into detail on what had occurred in the premonition. When he mentioned Melissa's first transformation, Duke seemed intrigued about it but then remained wordless when he mentioned the slaying of Shadow. "No…she wouldn't do that. She wouldn't kill one of our allies," he said. He didn't want to believe that Melissa was turning toward killing to try and keep them away.

"She did do it, Duke. She killed Shadow," Leon answered. He didn't like the look on his friend's face. _I guess he's taking this killing harder than I expected. I don't think any of us would expect this blow from Melissa herself._

"Wh—what happened next?" asked Duke, still trying to come to terms with this event that was destined to happen.

From there, Leon continued. He spoke of the new fight that took place and then the final attack that had almost defeated Melissa. Then he reluctantly went into detail on the new mutation that took place and Jessica's feelings about it. He told Duke that Jessica had said that she sensed something dark take over the dragon's body, that it wasn't under her control, and that Jessica, along with Leon, believed Tichondrius had done something to cause such a mutation.

But Duke seemed to take it even harder than with the slaying of Shadow. He was speechless. He closed his eyes and he felt fear, distress, and rage grow within him, ready to be released at any moment. His hands balled up into fists from rage and he could feel tears form in his eyes. He clenched his teeth together to try and stop himself from crying.

Leon could tell his friend was having a tough time controlling his emotions. He could almost feel his rage and pain radiating off of him. He wanted to do something to comfort his friend, but he wasn't sure what. Ever since this whole war began, Duke had not been himself. More recently with the fight between Velora and Gloria, Melissa, and their allies, it was almost as if he had totally lost it. He was beginning to shut his friends and allies out. He was also stuck in his room much more often and many times, when Leon or someone else passed by his room, they could hear Duke crying. Many times, when the others asked him about it, his reply would be "I don't want to talk about it."

Leon was probably the only one he would still talk to. Other than that, Duke didn't let anyone else know what was going on. He lost control of his emotions more often than before. He was beginning to lose his temper frequently as well. Gloria had spoken to him several times about it, but many times he would just say something like, "If you had lost someone important in your life, you wouldn't be telling me this. You don't know what kind of hell I have to go through each day just to survive while she's forced to suffer through God knows what!" As much as his reply and mood swings pissed Gloria off, in a way she couldn't really blame him and neither could the others. For the past several days, Leon had been worried about Duke and wondering if there was anything he could do to somehow help his friend cope with this war.

"Duke…you ok?" Leon asked after a few minutes of silence.

"That son of a bitch…I'll kill him for doing that to her!" Duke yelled.

"Please Duke, calm down," Leon pleaded. "I don't want you to lose control of yourself again. The last time you let your rage take over, you created a very dangerous form. We don't need that to happen again."

"I'm sorry Leon, but I just can't believe this…hasn't she suffered enough??" Duke demanded, with his eyes watery and teeth clenched in rage.

"I know, Duke. I know. It's obvious he doesn't care about how much she suffers. All he cares about is using her to create his army, defeat us, and then maybe help take over the world. All we can do is hope she survives until we can go there to save her."

"But I want to go and save her now. It isn't fair that she has to suffer because she wants to protect us. It just isn't fair…" Duke began crying like he had done many times before. He preferred not to cry in front of people but this time he couldn't control it. He tried wiping the tears from his eyes quickly. _C'mon Duke, just stop it! Leon probably already thinks you're a weak, pathetic person. You're supposed to be strong! Not act like a goddamn baby!_

"Duke…" Leon trailed off. He wasn't sure what to say. He hated seeing his friends like this.

"I can't go on like this, knowing that she's over there with Tichondrius, suffering God knows what and wondering when we'll save her. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if she ended up being killed before we get to save her. It's all my fault that this happened in the first place…"

"What?? What makes you say it's your fault?" Leon didn't understand why Duke was suddenly blaming himself for all this when he played no part in it.

"If I had been able to save Melissa before Sylan had kidnapped her, then I might've been able to prevent this from happening. I might've been able to save her and prevent all this from happening. If I had done _something_, she wouldn't be there right now." He began to cry more, not caring anymore if Leon was there.

"Duke, you wouldn't have been able to stop this. This was never your fault. Even if you were able to save her that night, Tichondrius would come back and try again until he got her. There was nothing you could do. This is not your fault."

"Yes it is, Leon! I was supposed to protect her. I was supposed to be there when she needed help most. I failed her, Leon. I failed her…" Duke placed his elbows on his knees, placed his face on his hands, and began crying uncontrollably. He continued repeating, "I failed her."

_Why is he taking the blame? Why does he keep thinking he failed Melissa?_ Leon wondered. "Duke, you did nothing! It isn't your fault that all this happens!"

_He's wrong. If I had done _something_, she would be here right now, not over there with Tichondrius. _Duke kept thinking.

Leon almost wanted to growl in frustration. _Why the hell is he blaming all this shit on himself? He did nothing! Is it because of all the stress that he feels?_

"She hates me, Leon," Duke suddenly said. His hands were on the sides of his head now, stilling leaning on his knees, and continued crying hysterically. "I know she does."

Leon had had it. He grabbed Duke's shoulders with a firm grip and shouted, "She doesn't hate you, Duke. This was never your fault. What do I have to do to get it through your head?!" He was shaking his friend while he was speaking. Then Leon grabbed Duke's chin and made him look at the warlock. Duke could see tears beginning to form in Leon's eyes. He didn't know why he was about to cry.

"Listen to me, Duke. None of this is your fault. You are guilty of nothing," Leon said, his voice trembling. He began weeping as well, but not as bad as Duke was. He was afraid of what Duke might do to himself with all this guilt and stress. He was afraid that Duke's personality would change for the worse. Most of all, he was afraid the stress and guilt would affect their friendship and possibly even destroy it. He didn't want to lose Duke as a friend and he would do everything in his power to convince him that it wasn't his fault. "You can't blame yourself for this. None of us blame you for this. Please, don't allow yourself to be taken over by guilt and stress. Please don't blame yourself anymore. Nobody hates you, not even Melissa. She loves you more than anything in the world. She doesn't hate you just because you weren't able to stop this from happening."

"How do you know? I failed her, Leon. I wasn't there to protect her when she needed me most."

"You didn't fail her, Duke. You fail her when you've given up on her and this whole campaign against Tichondrius. How do I know she doesn't hate you? Out of the millions of guys out there that she could've chosen from, she chose you. You've done so much for her, I don't even know how she can begin to hate you. She loves you, Duke. She always will. You can't let her down by simply giving up or blaming yourself. That isn't going to help her, help us, or even help you. You have to stay strong for her. No matter what. You haven't failed her and you haven't failed us. Now do you see why blaming yourself isn't going to help her? Why it isn't your fault?"

"I…I think so," Duke finally responded. He had long since stopped crying as well as Leon. Duke finally stopped blaming himself and thought about what Leon had said. _He's right. I can't give up on her now. Blaming myself won't help Melissa or the others. I have to be strong for her. I have to be!_

Leon had been waiting for Duke to say something. He could tell that his friend was thinking. _Maybe I finally convinced him that it wasn't his fault. Maybe he finally understands that blaming himself isn't going to help us or help Melissa._ He loosened his grip on Duke's shoulders and remained silent, waiting for a reply.

At last, Duke said, "Leon…I—I'm sorry."

"For what?" the warlock wondered. "For being an idiot?" He was being very honest when he said that comment.

Duke gave him a slight smile and chuckled lightly. "Yeah, for being an idiot."

Leon also chuckled lightly. "No problem, bro. I'm just glad you finally got it."

Duke sighed loudly and Leon could sense there was something else. "Is there something else on your mind?"

"I just—I'm scared."

"Of what?"

"Of what the future holds. I'm afraid of Tichondrius doing something terrible to Melissa or Gloria or you or anyone else. I'm afraid of losing her. I'm afraid of having to face all this alone."

Leon could see new tears forming. "I know you're afraid. We all are. But together we can overcome this fear, save her, and defeat Tichondrius. You aren't alone, Duke. None of us are. We all have each other. You have me, Jessica, Ashley, Orlando, and everyone else watching your back. We're all watching each other's back. No one will face this alone. We're going to face this together, as a team."

Duke gave Leon another small smile and began crying again but not for the same reason as before. He was relieved and thankful that he had such good people as friends. He was crying from the pure joy (although odd for a time like this) of having good friends.

Leon could tell that his friend wasn't crying from guilt and stress, but from instant joy. He wasn't sure what had caused this sudden feeling, but he was happy to see Duke's eyes and expression light up.

"Leon…I—I don't know where I'd be without you," Duke admitted. "You're a good friend."

Leon's eyes just began to water not only from Duke's compliment, but because he thought of how much his friendship meant to the dragon. "You are too, Duke. I'm always there for you. All of us are there for you. Hell, even Melissa is always there for you, even if she's not here with you. You're never alone."

"Thanks." Duke's voice trembled and suddenly he buried his face into Leon's right shoulder, crying more once again, and gave him a weak hug. Leon was taken aback by the sudden action. But after a few seconds, he returned Duke's hug and continued to calm him down. Other than Duke's sobbing and sniffling and Leon's occasional soothing words to try and calm his friend down, a comfortable peace settled in. It was going to be a long, but peaceful morning.


	27. Duke's Growing Fears

Chapter XXVI: Duke's Growing Fears

The morning of September 5th, 2018 started like the mornings before. Melissa's back still ached, she was still tired, and Reptile was still taking care of her. But on this day, Melissa was forced to do another mission. This time, a cobraman knight told her what she needed to do. She figured Tichondrius couldn't face her after what she did.

She was told to get a beast that has been feared by many. The species was known as the Alien. It wasn't the big-eyes, green big headed, short aliens that stupid people "saw." The Alien was an intelligent and deadly species of beasts whose origins are unknown. There are different forms of the Alien but the most common is the Alien Drone. They are midnight black creatures with a long head, sharp teeth, an inner mouth, a long segmented tail equipped with a deadly tail spike, segmented chest, and long, sharp claws. They don't have eyes but they have other supreme senses. The Alien was a species to behold.

And now Melissa was being forced to go and get the Aliens when she was still injured. _It's not like I have much of a choice,_ Melissa thought while she walked to the entrance of the fortress to take off. But she heard someone calling her name. She turned back to see Reptile, once again covered in armor and armed with his blade. "Reptile, what are you doing?" she demanded. She did not want to put him in danger again.

"I'm coming with you. I want to help," Reptile answered.

"For the love of God, Reptile! You almost died trying to help me get Black Tyranno. I will not allow that to happen again."

"I'm coming whether you like it or not. Just because you're more powerful than me doesn't make me any less weak. I can be strong as well."

"I don't underestimate you, but you are not strong enough to deal with powerful races like the Alien."

"You do underestimate me. You think you're so strong, you can beat everyone. But even a powerful dragon like you needs help."

Now Melissa was getting furious. "Reptile, I don't think I can beat everyone. I have my weaknesses and I know it. I don't think I'm the most powerful out there. But I do know how to be cautious. I know the Alien race like the back of my hand and I know it takes strategy to defeat them, not power. I will not risk you just to get these things to join."

"Do I have to prove to you that I'm capable of fighting?!"

"Look Reptile, I appreciated your help with Black Tyranno and I also appreciate the help you gave me when I was helpless. But I cannot take you with me. I will not risk my friend for this. Not this time."

Reptile growled in frustration. But before he could continue his argument, Drake cut in. "Reptile, leave her. She wishes to go on her own."

"Drake, who's side are you on?!"

"Reptile, what is the matter with you?! You've helped her with all your power but she must go on. She does not want to risk your life just to get this race. Don't you understand?"

Reptile sighed loudly. "No matter what you try to do Reptile, I won't take you with me. Perhaps next time," Melissa finally said.

Tired of arguing, she faced the hallway that lead to the entrance and continued her walk to it.

Reptile growled again. "Let it go Reptile. You are starting to become far too protective of her," Drake clarified. "She can take care of herself. How do you think she survived for this long?"

"No! She isn't ok!" Reptile said, almost breaking out in tears. He threw his sword to the ground and collapsed on his knees.

"What's wrong?"

"Don't you see? She's still wounded! She won't survive with the kind of injuries she has, tormenting her every minute of her life. She isn't ready to fight alone!"

"Reptile, she has power literally coursing through her veins. She was born to fight. She can defend herself just fine."

"No, not this time. Drake, I saw Sylan inject something into her neck when she first became unconscious after her torture. I'm afraid of what he injected and how it will affect her. I'm afraid something terrible will happen today. I can sense it."

"How can you sense it?"

"I just have a very, very bad feeling. I can't shake it off. That's why I wanted to go."

Now Drake understood why Reptile was so persistent in going with Melissa. When he looked down the hallway, he noticed that Melissa was not there anymore. "Shit…" he cursed. "I'm sorry Reptile."

Reptile only sighed in reply. Drake felt bad for doing what he had done. There was only one thing he could do now. He walked up to Reptile and in a hushed voice said, "Reptile…I will leave to warn the others of the injection. You must tell me when Melissa returns."

"But—"

"Use the Reveal spell. In order to use it, you have to say 'Gääfikr.' Your level of magic should be good enough to speak with me. You have to use something that gives off a reflection like a puddle of water or something. Anything. As soon as she returns, tell me. I must go back to the others immediately."

Drake quickly turned around. Reptile did not have a chance to reply. The crystal dragon took off at the entrance, in a hurry to reach Melissa's friends. Reptile ran to the entrance and saw Drake flying towards the horizon. _Please, Drake. Reach them before it's too late_, Reptile thought. He wasn't sure what Sylan had done to Melissa, but he was hoping it wasn't something very serious. If only he knew how wrong he was.

Just simply flapping her wings was bringing pain to Melissa's back. But she ignored it best she could. She had to be prepared for the upcoming battle; a battle that would show the true rage residing within her

* * *

James yawned when he walked outside and stretched. It was nice and cool outside with a slight breeze. He looked out to the horizon, watching the sun as it continued its rise to the morning sky. 

"James, sorry to interrupt but we must discuss something," someone said behind him.

James glanced back and saw the Sorcerer of Dark Magic. The magician seemed very tired. "Sorcerer, have you gotten your rest?" he asked.

"Not for the last several hours. I have been searching for new allies separate from the Dark Magician Girl, Metruzahk, Xalahk, and the werewolf, Scarr. I found a worthy beast that could aid us in this war. They are called the Hellknights."

"The Hellknights?!" James shouted. The vampire had heard many legends on the powerful beast.

The Hellknight is a tall (nearly 9 ft tall) beast with massive, powerful muscles, short but sharp black claws; very light skin, no eyes, and many blunt, human-like teeth. The Hellknights are a highly aggressive race that was believed to come from Hell itself. Nobody can be sure whether the mighty Hellknight came from Hell itself, but what people do know is that they live in the fieriest and darkest of areas.

"These creatures are willing to join us? Can they even talk?" James asked.

"The Hellknight race doesn't speak English as many of our allies. They speak in a series of roars, growls, and noises like that," replied the Sorcerer of Dark Magic.

"Um…how exactly do we speak with them using those kinds of noises?"

"I'm not entirely sure, which is why I suggest you take Duke. He is a dragon so he might know how to speak with these noises. Also, he is the monster expert himself. He must know about the Hellknight language."

"I guess you're right. I'll consider that. Where did you find these Hellknights?"

"Reaching them may not be so easy…you see, they live far in the wasteland north of here I believe. The area they live in is almost entirely blanketed with shadows and the ground is cracked from the intense heat of the wasteland. What's worse, they live near a volcano, which has recently erupted so the ground is covered in cooled lava but if its outer covering breaks, the lava will slowly seep out so it's crucial that you enter cautiously."

"Ok. Thanks, Sorcerer."

"You're welcome, James." The magician turned around and went back into the base.

James stayed outside, thinking about who he would take to get these Hellknights. He would definitely take Duke, even though the dragon was supposed to be taking a short break. As much as he hated to disturb him, he needed Duke for this quest.

He also thought about taking Caitlin and Onurahk. He didn't remember the last time Caitlin had joined them to get allies and Onurahk hadn't even been part of any of the past journeys to get allies. He also thought the Dark Magician would be a great help as well as Shadow, the second-in-command in Sifyre's Black Wolf clan. He didn't want to bother Sifyre for a quest like this.

He decided to wait an hour or so before he would go inside and get the other prepared for this quest.

* * *

Pain erupted from Leon's neck as he suddenly awoke. He groaned and placed his hand on his neck. He suddenly realized that he wasn't in his room when he looked around. When he thought about what had happened earlier that morning, he recalled not leaving Duke's room. He suddenly remembered what happened after Duke had buried his face into Leon's shoulder and began crying again while Leon tried to comfort him…

* * *

After several more minutes Duke finally removed his head from Leon's shoulder. "Feeling better Duke?" Leon asked with a slight smile. 

"Yeah, I'm feeling a little better," Duke answered, returning Leon's smile.

"You gonna be ok? Or not?"

"Well…"

"Well what? Something else going on that you haven't told me about?"

"No…I'll be fine."

Leon didn't believe him. He studied Duke for a few seconds, looking into his eyes to see if there was something he was hiding.

Duke didn't know what Leon was doing or why he was staring at him straight in the eye. He figured it was to try and see what Duke was hiding.

After several moments of silence, Leon muttered, "You've been having nightmares."

Duke raised his eyebrow. He was surprised that Leon was able to guess his problem just by studying him through his eyes. "How—" he was about to ask.

"It's pretty hard to explain," replied Leon. "But I know you're having bad nightmares. Of what, I don't know. But I do know that the nightmares are another reason for your difficulty sleeping."

"As much as I hate to admit it…yeah, I've been having nightmares. That's also why I can't sleep."

"Is that also why sometimes we hear you crying when we pass by your room late at night?"

"Yeah…that's why."

Leon thought he could see a look of shame or embarrassment on his friend's face as Duke looked away. _Why is he embarrassed?_ Leon wondered. _He has nothing to be ashamed of._

Duke sighed and added, "Pretty stupid huh? Crying like a baby over nightmares…"

"C'mon Duke, you don't have to be ashamed of that. And I don't think that's stupid. Everyone does it. Jessica has cried when she had a bad nightmare. Gloria's done the same. Even I've done that and I'm not ashamed to say it."

"Thanks Leon."

"What is it that you dream about?"

"I have nightmares about Tichondrius, Melissa, and you guys."

"What kind of nightmares do you have with us or with Melissa? And how Tichondrius?"

"Many times…bad things happen to you guys like one of you might get killed or something. Then with Melissa…" Duke sighed before he went on. "Many times she's killed by Tichondrius or she kills one of you guys."

Duke began describing some of his nightmares that normally dealt with Melissa, his other friends, and even himself. Leon was shocked by some of the nightmares Duke described. Some weren't too bad, some were very bloody, and some were very disturbing. Duke told him about a recent nightmare he had that has been haunting him. He had this dream several times before. He said that it started with him and Melissa getting ready to fight each other once again…

* * *

Duke and Melissa were standing on a 50 foot tall cliff with a width of 30 feet. It stood tall and alone, with no other cliffs around or any ground around it. The cliff was attached to nothing, only the darkness that existed around it. The two dragons stood across each other on the only solid ground in the entire area. Duke was in his true silver dragon form while Melissa remained in her dragon-demon form. The dragons faced each other for another minute or two before finally running towards each other, ready to fight. 

Duke lowered his head and slammed into Melissa, sending her several feet away. She slid on the ground, which scraped her side and back. She got up slowly, glared at Duke, and suddenly fired a beam of thunder. The beam wasn't blue like it normally was, but pure white. This was something Duke had never seen before. The color of a thunder bolt normally revealed how powerful it truly was. He didn't know what color represented the most powerful. But he would soon discover what white represented.

He didn't have enough time to react. When the white beam of electricity hit him, he could feel pain that was like none he ever felt before. The pain surged through his entire body. He didn't understand it. He was supposed to be immune to electricity. But before he could even do anything, he was blasted with a stream of white fire. He roared in agony, once again feeling pain like nothing he had ever felt. The pain was indescribable. _How is this happening? I'm supposed to be immune to fire and electricity._

Melissa only watched him in delight, grinning at his pain. Duke couldn't understand what was going on. First he was evidently not immune to the white fire and electricity and now Melissa was smiling at him while he writhed in pain from the deadly attacks. He glared at her, growling in pain.

Melissa laughed cruelly as she fired another beam of electricity. Duke once again roared in pain. She laughed again. "How pathetic," she commented. "You used to be so strong."

"Melissa…why are you doing this?" Duke groaned. "What happened to you? You never did this to me or the others before."

"Heh, that was before. This is now. I don't even know why I ever showed mercy to you fools. You don't deserve it." Melissa gave him a sinister smile.

"What is wrong with you? Did Tichondrius do something to you?"

"No shit, Sherlock. He gave me all the power I could ask for. He made me the most powerful being to ever live! I don't need you pathetic so-called 'World Guardians' anymore. You're all weak. You depend on friendship and teamwork to win. But that'll get you nowhere. Power is the only way to fight. Power is the only way to victory!"

"Power will get you nowhere, Melissa. You knew that as much as everyone else. Anyone with a good heart becomes corrupted with power. You used to be a good person and look at you. You've become corrupted from all this power!"

Melissa growled and shouted, "Shut up!"

She fired a bolt of white lightning at Duke. Agony shot through his body again. He roared in great pain again. "You know nothing of how it feels to have all this power coursing through your veins," Melissa remarked.

"I…don't need power…to win a fight," Duke groaned.

"Hmph, I wouldn't be saying that. Now…enough talk. Let's finish this."

Melissa held her hand out and yelled, "Rëvakr nödrak!" Then some kind of dark energy snaked its way towards Duke from her hand. The energy went through his chest and suddenly the dragon could feel his energy drastically diminish. He started feeling weak after each passing minute. When he looked at himself he could actually see his massive dragon body break up like glass. He didn't know why this was happening. "C'mon Duke, haven't you ever heard of the Reverse Transformation spell?" Melissa asked with a smile.

"Shit," Duke whispered to himself. He had heard of the spell but he had never seen the Reverse Transformation spell in action until now.

His body continued to break up while he began to return to his human disguise. Melissa only watched with her arms crossed across her chest. Duke gave out one last roar before his dragon body disappeared altogether. Now he was human once again, on his knees and weak from the spell. Then blue and red energy snaked its way out of his chest and went into Melissa's. The energy that he and his other friends had is stored within their hearts. That was why Duke's energy snaked its way out of his chest and went into Melissa's, only adding to her almost infinite energy.

"Now you have no power to transform," Melissa snickered. "I suggest you bow down to me and surrender. I promise to give you a quick death."

She laughed once again. Duke couldn't believe how Melissa was acting. She had been corrupted from all the power Tichondrius had given her. There was nothing he could do now.

He slowly got up, took out his sword from the sheath attached to his belt, and yelled, "I will not go down that quickly. I suggest you get ready, because you and I will fight to the death!"

"You never did go down that easily," Melissa added, "but whatever you wish. You'll regret fighting me."

"We'll see about that," Duke said.

Duke ran towards Melissa and slashed her across her chest with his thick blade. She growled in anger and slashed him with her scythe blades. Duke moaned in pain from the slash marks on his own chest but retaliated.

The two dragons fought each other with blade, electricity, and fire. Duke retaliated with his thick blade while Melissa attacked with her white elemental powers and scythe blades. Duke was already beginning to lose. His energy was drastically decreasing and his injuries were getting worse and more painful. He didn't know how he was going to win.

The two fought for nearly an hour. Duke was becoming so weak, he wasn't able to attack with electricity or fire, which has never happened to him before. He was breathing rapidly and his heart was pounding. Melissa, on the other hand, was still full of energy and fighting.

Eventually he couldn't take it anymore and finally collapsed on his knees. He was out of breath from all the evading and attacking he had done. Melissa was standing in front of him, ready to continue the fight. "How pathetic," she said after a moment of silence.

Duke looked at her and slowly got up. As tired as he was, he couldn't give up. "Give it up Duke," Melissa continued. "You can't fight. You're so weak you can't even lift your sword back up."

Duke groaned in anger. Melissa did not give him the chance to do anything. She fired another beam of white electricity. Duke screamed in agony as the beam hit him and sent pain coursing through his body. He was sent several feet away and actually fell off the edge of the cliff. He quickly grabbed the edge of the cliff, trying to pull himself back up. But Melissa stood over him, looking down at him with a smile. She bent down and suddenly sunk her claws into his hands. Once again Duke cried in pain, the dragon's claws digging deep into his hands. He continued moaning as Melissa's claws dug deeper until they came out the other side of his hands and began digging into the cliff. "How do you like it Duke? How do you like to suffer from the hands of the one you loved??" Melissa growled in anger.

"Please Melissa don't do this," Duke pleaded.

"Why not? You never cared for me? None of you did!"

"What are you talking about? We have always cared for you!" Duke was of course speaking about him and the others.

"Hmph, don't make me laugh. You guys abandoned me and left me to suffer in the hands of Tichondrius!"

"No we didn't! We were trying to save you but—"

"But what? I waited for you guys to come. I risked my life to protect all of you. And then you guys decide it's not even worth coming to save me so you decide to forget about me!"

"What?" Duke couldn't believe what Melissa was saying.

"That goddamn leader of yours. She thinks she can win and fight and do anything, yet she can't come and save me, her own friend. She never cared for me. She doesn't care for anyone. She only cares for herself."

"You're wrong. Gloria isn't like that. She cares for everyone. And she didn't abandon you. She tried whatever she could to save you."

"Bullshit. That son of a bitch only acts the way she does because she wants you to think she's a worthy leader when in reality, she's as weak and pathetic as you. All of you are. Leon, Ashley, Caitlin, Orlando, and the rest of your fucking group. You will all suffer like me and have the undead feed on your rotting flesh after your death."

Duke was shocked by what she had said. "That's including you!" she added.

"What?"

"You only got together with me so you could get your hands on the power that I have. So you could become a full dragon!"

"Melissa…that isn't true."

"Yes it is. You forgot about me when I was kidnapped. You never tried to come and help me. You only pretended to care about me, so that when you did fight Tichondrius, you could steal his power and add it to your own."

Duke's eyes began to water. Everything she was saying was hurting him. "I never forgot about you. I always thought about you. I never wanted the power. I wanted to get you back."

"No you didn't. You never cared for me or anyone else."

"Melissa how can you say that?!" Duke was already beginning to cry. "I always loved you and I always cared about you. I never forgot you and I never will. I never thought about whatever power that we could get after defeating Tichondrius. Only you. I never wanted you to suffer and always prayed to the gods that you would live through it. That we'd be able to save you in time before Tichondrius did any other horrible thing to you. I always loved you and I always will."

"Save it, Duke. You're hurting yourself. Now…it's time for you to suffer just as much as I have. Fall into the eternal darkness that serves as the very entrance to the burning abyss of Hell! You will burn for an eternity from the flames of Hell itself! You will suffer thrice the amount of agony that I suffered! You will suffer in the hands of our Lord of Hell Himself for all eternity!!"

Without warning, Melissa removed her claws from Duke's hands, pushing him off in the process. He screamed as he fell towards the eternal darkness around the cliff they were fighting on, while Melissa laughed maniacally at the very top. He plunged into the darkness and after a few moments of falling and hearing the cruel laughter of the one he loved, his world went black.

* * *

Leon was shocked by the dream Duke had just described to him. The dragon's nightmares were worse than Leon thought. He felt sorry for his friend. He wished there was something he could do to end his nightmares. 

"It was terrible, Leon. I couldn't believe what she was saying," Duke said. His voice began trembling again. "I'm so afraid of having that dream again. I can't go to sleep because I'm so scared."

"You don't have to be afraid because of a few nightmares," Leon said. But he knew that if he were in Duke's shoes, he would be just as scared about having nightmares.

"I know I shouldn't be but it's hard for me. I'm scared of these nightmares actually coming true."

"I know you are. But you have to be able to face your fears for you to be able to go on with your life. You can't be scared of everything unknown to you. If needed, we can be the first step to conquering your fear. Once you do so, the nightmares should go away."

"But how can you guys help me conquer my fear?"

"We can give you the courage to do this but it's your job to face this fear and overcome it on your own. I will help you if it makes you feel better. I will help you when you need it."

"Thanks Leon."

"No problem, Duke. I'll do whatever it takes to help you return to normal. Now…I think it's time for you to go to sleep. Just because you have nightmares, doesn't mean you should try to avoid sleeping. You'll need it."

"I know. I'm just…"

"Afraid of having another nightmare?"

"Yes and of being alone to face it."

Leon sighed loudly and thought for a few seconds. Then agreed to something. "If you're afraid to be alone, then…I'll be here with you. If you have any nightmares, I'll wake you up."

"You'd really do that?"

"C'mon Duke, do I have to remind you that we're best friends? You're like a brother to me and I would do anything to help you when you need it. I'm always there for you."

"Thanks Duke. You're like a brother to me too." Duke smiled at Leon.

Leon responded with a big smile. Leon and Duke were not only real close friends, but they were like siblings. "Now, it's time for you to go to sleep, ya big baby," Leon said with a grin.

Duke chuckled lightly. "Alright Leon, I'm going."

"And don't worry. I'm right here."

"Thanks. Hey Leon can you do me a favor?"

"Yeah?"

"Promise me you won't tell anyone about what's been going on."

"I promise."

"Thank you."

Leon nodded in reply. Then he sat on the wooden chair, watching over his friend. When he looked at the window, he could see a bluish glow around it, a sign that the sun was going to begin to rise to the sky soon. For the next thirty minutes or so, he watched his friend sleeping peacefully, not showing any signs of a nightmare. Then Leon himself began nodding off. Eventually he couldn't keep his eyes open and he too fell asleep…

* * *

That was what happened before Leon had fallen asleep. When he looked at Duke, he could see that his friend was sleeping peacefully. There was no sign of him having another nightmare during the time he had been asleep. When Leon looked at the time, he noticed that it was almost nine in the morning. 

He heard Duke groan and noticed him beginning to wake up. "Good morning sleepyhead," Leon greeted with a small smile.

Duke faced him and said, "Good morning to you too."

"Sleep well?"

"Yeah, I did." Duke got up and leaned against the wall.

"Did you have any nightmares?"

"Weren't you here the entire time?"

"Yeah but…I sort of…" Leon wasn't sure if he should just spit it out.

"Fell asleep right?" Duke looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

Leon avoided his gaze and answered, "Yeah…sorry."

"Ah, it's ok. I forgive you," Duke responded with a smile.

"I'm surprised you're not mad at me, especially since I was supposed to keep watch over you to make sure you have no nightmares."

"Yeah well…if I were to have a nightmare, it would surely wake you up. And I know you haven't gotten a lot of sleep because of your studying so I figured you would fall asleep."

"Oh."

"But anyway…I think you should head back to Jessica. She might be wondering where you are."

"Right…you gonna be ok?"

"I'll be fine. You don't have to worry about me."

"Alright. Well if you do need anything, my door is always open."

Duke nodded in reply. Leon slowly got up and headed towards the door. He opened it and before exiting, said, "Take it easy, will you?"

"I will Leon. Don't worry," Duke replied.

Satisfied, Leon left the room, closing the door behind him quietly in case anyone else was sleeping. "Good morning Leon," someone said.

Startled, Leon looked to his right and saw James standing a few feet away from him. "Jesus James, you scared me," he admitted.

"Sorry. That wasn't my intention," said James. "What were you doing in Duke's room?"

"Oh uh…he and I were talking about personal issues. That's all," Leon responded.

"Is he awake right now?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"I need to ask him something."

"Is it bad?"

"No, I was going to ask him to join me and a few others on another quest to find the Hellknights."

"Dark Magician Girl and her group found the Hellknights today?"

"No, the Sorcerer of Dark Magic did. He suggested I take Duke since he most likely knows how to get these things to become our allies."

"I dunno if he's up to it James. He's going through a lot right now."

"Like what?"

"I can't say too much. Its personal matters that are between me and him. But he's going through so much right now I don't think he'd be up to the job."

James sighed. "I know he probably won't be. But I need him for this quest. We need these Hellknights."

"Alright, ask him. But you need to take it easy on him."

"Why can't you tell me what's going on?"

"Because they're personal matters. Why must you know?"

"So that we can help him. So we know when to take it easy on him and things like that."

"Right now, he doesn't feel comfortable talking with you guys. For now, he's only comfortable speaking with me. Give him time and he might open up to you. But don't force him. You got it?"

James normally didn't like taking orders from anyone. "You have to promise me that you will not push him to talk to you guys," Leon demanded.

James sighed again. "Fine," he agreed.

Leon turned around and headed back to his room. He hoped James kept his word.

James narrowed his eyes as Leon left. He was curious at what Leon was hiding. He believed it was his business to know what was going on with Duke so that he could report it to Gloria immediately.

He faced Duke's door and knocked. "Come in," he heard the dragon say.

James entered and noticed Duke fixing the room. "Good morning Duke," James greeted.

"Hey James," Duke said, not looking at the vampire. He was busy fixing his bed.

"Hey Duke…I have to ask you something."

Duke faced James. "What?"

"I wanted to know…if you'd be well enough to join us on a quest. I really need you for this."

"I dunno James. Why'd you need me?"

"Because this quest is to get the Hellknights and we don't know how to communicate with them."

"The Hellknights? You've got to be kidding me."

"I'm not."

"James, these are the Hellknights we're talking about. The Hellknights are a highly aggressive kind of monsters that work for no one. They're not going to join us."

"Well…we can at least try."

"It isn't going to help."

"You never know. Maybe there's something you can do to convince them to join us."

"I doubt it James."

James had an idea. "You want to help Melissa right?"

That seemed to hit Duke. "…Yeah I do."

"Then let's try any possible ally, no matter how hopeless it seems." James was hoping this would convince Duke to come with them.

Duke thought about it for a few seconds. Sighing loudly, he said, "Fine. I'll come."

James could feel himself smiling in triumph. "Good. Get ready then. We're leaving in half an hour. Also…is there anything you'd like to talk about?"

"What?"

"Anything personal to talk about?"

"No. Why?"

"Well something seems to be bothering you."

"It's nothing to worry about."

"It is something to worry about. If there is, then tell me."

Duke narrowed his eyes at James. "Something is bothering me but I don't want to talk about it," he added.

"Duke you have to tell me so I can report it to Gloria."

"James, I said I don't want to talk about it."

"If you don't tell me, I'll report it to Gloria and have her talk to you."

Duke felt frustrated. _Why can he just mind his own business and leave me alone?_ "Again, I don't want to talk about it," he repeated.

James sighed loudly. "Alright then," he simply said. He exited the room, nearly slamming the door. "What's his problem?" he asked himself.

James felt frustration. He wasn't able to get Duke to talk. He needed to know what was going on. Not only to keep Gloria updated, but because he himself wanted to know.

He would have to tell Gloria to see if she could get him to talk. Clearing his thoughts of the issue, James continued his way to ask the others if they were willing to help.

* * *

"Jess, you ok?" Leon asked when he entered his room and saw Jessica sitting on the bed, reading something. 

"I'm fine. Where were you?" Jessica asked in curiosity.

"I was uh…in Duke's room. He and I were talking." Leon sat down on the bed beside Jessica.

"About?" she asked.

"Personal issues."

"Is everything alright?"

"Not really…Duke's been going through a lot lately. He's changed since this war began and I've been worried about him."

"You have every right to be. I hope things get better for him."

"I hope so too."

But Jessica could tell there was something else in his mind. "You're hiding something else Leon. Is it something we can talk about?"

Leon sighed loudly and said, "Yeah. Before I left, James said he wanted Duke to join him on a quest but I didn't think it was a good thing to do right now, especially after all he's been through. Then he was trying to get me to talk about what was going on with Duke. But I promised him that I wouldn't tell anyone about what was going on. He would tell everyone when he was ready."

"Why would James want to try and get you to talk about Duke's problems?"

"I don't know but I don't like his intentions."

"Maybe he's just trying to help."

"Well he has to stop. Duke isn't comfortable speaking with anyone else except me at the moment. Everyone just needs to give him time and I'm sure he'll start talking."

"I know he will. Just tell that to everyone if you're worried about what this might do to him."

"I guess I could do that."

Jessica placed her hand on his shoulder. "Things will get better. Both for him and for everyone else."

Leon gave her a weak smile. "I guess it will."

* * *

No, Leon and Duke are not gay, they're supposed to be good friends. I had to clear that up before any of you people out there said any lies like that. 


	28. Growing Tensions

Chapter XVII: Growing Tensions

* * *

**A/N**: Finally decided to finish this chapter yesterday. And also, from now on, the spells that you see in the story will now be at the bottom of the story. It'll have the meaning and effect. So no one's confused as to what the spells mean. May take a while for me to have the next chapter up. For now, enjoy

* * *

Duke got himself ready for the quest. He didn't want to go, but if it meant new allies, he didn't have much of a choice. He took out his sword, which he called Thunderfury. His thick blade had the insignia like the writing of a dragon. The blade had a sphere of electricity in the middle of it that could fire lightning bolts when striking an enemy. The blade was split down the middle, the ending circling around the sphere of electricity. The blade shined with silver pride. The handle was nearly four inches in length and it had a jagged spike on the sides and at the very end of the handle. 

He attached his sheath to his belt and sheathed his sword. He put on his black leather sleeveless shirt and black pants. Normally he would wear some kind of protective armor over his clothes, but not this time. He figured that since he was dealing with the Hellknights and that they were all about fire, he wouldn't need anything to protect himself due to the fact that he was immune to fire.

But for some reason, something was bothering him. Part of his mind was telling him not to go, that something was going to happen. He began to wonder if maybe the premonition Leon told him about would occur today. That that was the cause of his troubled feeling.

He was hoping that what he was thinking wasn't true. He didn't want that premonition to happen. Not now. He had seen enough over the past months. Enough was bothering him as it is, and he didn't need the disturbing mutation of his mate to haunt him for the rest of his life.

Clearing his mind of such thoughts, Duke made sure he was prepared for his journey to get the Hellknights. Once he was sure of it, he left his room, ready to continue his fight to create a great army. Little did he know that his worst fears would come true.

* * *

"I don't know, Gloria. Something's wrong with the guy," James said.

"Maybe it's not in our place to know just yet. I mean, Duke's gone through so much," reminded Gloria.

"So what? You're saying that we should just leave him to cry and fend for himself like a big baby?"

Gloria was a bit shocked by what James was saying. "No I'm not saying that. I'm saying maybe we should just give him some time and when he's ready, he can tell us himself. We're not gonna make him tell us."

"If he can tell Leon, then I know he can tell us."

"That's because Leon's a close friend of Duke's. Duke feels more comfortable talking to him because he knows that Leon won't tell anyone else about what's been going on. Melissa's done the same with me. Why are you so damn persistent in getting him to tell us what's going on?"

"Because we do have a right to know. Because we shouldn't be hiding anything from each other. Because if there is something wrong with him, then we can help him."

"I guess you have a point…but I still believe we should wait to let him tell us on his own."

James seemed to be getting frustrated by Gloria's refusal to try and get Duke to talk to everyone about what's been going on. He sighed and said, "Fine. We'll wait until he tells us. I'll be in the library." The library wasn't actually a library. It was more like a storage room for their spell books, monster books, and discovered artifacts and ancient documents. Nonetheless, James knew he would find some more information on the Hellknights. Not only that, but he knew it would give him time to think and cool off as well.

Afterwards, he abruptly left their room. Gloria wasn't sure what James's problem was or why he wanted to know what was wrong with Duke so badly. She would have to keep and eye on him for a while to make sure no problems came up between him and Duke.

* * *

James walked down the hallway, frustrated that Gloria wouldn't do anything. He believed that it was in their place to know what was wrong with Duke and that everyone should know what was going on. He didn't get why it was so difficult for the dragon to just tell them.

While he was walking down the hallway, he spotted Duke walking towards him. "Hey Duke," James called out. "Come here for a sec."

Duke seemed reluctant but came nonetheless. "What's up James?" he wondered.

"Duke, tell me something," James said in a firm voice. "Tell me what's been going on."

"Why do I need to?" Duke demanded. "It's none of your business."

"Yes it is our business. Tell us what's been going on. I don't see why it's so difficult for you to do that."

"Because it's personal information. I don't need to tell you if I don't want to. Besides, you're not the boss of me."

"Until Gloria is ready, I am your boss. And I want you to tell me what's been going on."

"I won't, James."

"So you can tell Leon, but you can't tell us?"

"Because he's my friend and I know I can trust him with that kind of information."

"So now you don't trust us??"

Duke was getting angry. "Goddamn it James. Yes I do trust you guys but there are some things that I don't feel comfortable telling you guys."

"Maybe I was right then. Maybe we should just leave you to suffer and cry like the big baby you are."

That made Duke furious. "I am not a big baby James. Look at you. You've changed so much since you first took over. Now you think you can rule everyone and get them to do things you don't want them to do. Well guess what James? You're not the boss of everyone. You're just a son of a bitch who needs to grow up and deal with the fact that not everyone will tell you everything about themselves."

Duke walked past James, leaving him to think about what he had said. James couldn't believe what Duke had said. He growled from frustration and turned around, quickly catching up with Duke. He placed his hand on Duke's left shoulder, forcefully turned him around, and punched him hard in the jaw. The dragon fell to the ground, his hand on his aching jaw. Then James came up to him and kicked him in the stomach, knocking the air out of him.

Duke remained on the ground, struggling to breathe and groaning from the new pain coursing through his body. "I'm not the one who needs to grow up," James declared. "I don't stay in my room, cry, and expect everyone to feel sorry for me. That's what you are, Duke, a baby who needs to grow up and stop being such a coward."

Then James began walking down the hallway, leaving Duke on the ground to groan in pain and struggle to breathe.

* * *

After several more minutes, Leon left his room to go and check on something. He was walking down the first floor hallway and noticed someone on the floor. He immediately recognized the person. "Duke!" he yelled.

He ran to his friend's side. He noticed a bit of blood coming from Duke's lower lip. He also became aware of how much he was trying to breathe. "My God Duke, what happened to you?" Leon inquired, concerned.

Leon gave Duke a few seconds to regain his breathing. Then he weakly said, "James…punched me and kicked me in the stomach. He was angry because I didn't tell him what was going on with me."

"What??" Leon demanded. Rage began to form. How dare James hit his own ally for such a stupid reason! "Where is that bastard?"

"I don't know where he was going but I think he was heading outside."

"Why would he do this?" Leon said it softly, as if to say it to himself. "Explain everything that happened."

Duke went on to explain how James had approached him and demanded that he tell the vampire about what was going on with him and why he was acting the way he was. Duke continued to refuse and even told James about how he had been corrupted by taking position of leader and how he thought that he was in charge of everyone. That got James angry and caused him to hurt him.

"That son of a bitch! I'm gonna kill him!" Leon yelled.

"No Leon. Just leave it at that. Violence amongst us will not solve anything. We should be trying to get more allies to help us in this war."

Leon knew Duke was right, but nonetheless he was going to get back at James. "You said he was heading outside?" he asked.

"I think he was," Duke answered. "I'm not sure where he was heading."

"Fine. I'll find him myself."

Leon immediately got up and headed towards where James was heading. "Leon no!" Duke yelled.

Leon didn't seem to hear him. _Shit, I have to stop him before this situation gets any worse!_ Duke thought.

He quickly got up and ran up to catch up to Leon. Leon went faster, looking for where James might've gone to. He was not going to let James get away with hurting his friend.

* * *

Gloria was walking down the hallway. She was heading back to her room after going to see the Sorcerer of Dark Magic. She had left after James left and she wanted to know if the magician knew anything about what was going on with Duke that James was so determined to know about. The Sorcerer didn't know what was up with Duke, leaving Gloria to wonder some more about what was so important.

She was heading back to her room when she saw Leon approach. She said hi but he said nothing. Instead he walked past her, his shoulder brushing hard against hers. She almost fell down when Leon bumped into her hard. "What's your problem??" Gloria yelled.

But Leon didn't reply. Before Gloria could even do anything, someone else bumped into her. Both of them fell to the ground. She pushed the person off of her and realized that it was Duke. "Duke, what the hell is going on?" Gloria demanded at once.

"Thank God I found you Gloria. Please, you have to help me stop Leon!" Duke quickly explained.

"Why?"

"Because he's gonna hurt James if we don't stop him."

"What??"

"Please, I don't have time to explain. Do you know where James is?"

"He said he was going to the library on the first floor. I think he went to look up more information about the Hellknights."

"Thank you! I'll explain everything later!" Then Duke got up and quickly left for the library. Gloria didn't know what was going on but she was going to find out herself. She got up and ran after Duke.

Leon used his psychic power to look for James. He knew he could track down James if he could only sense his aura, something he had long since mastered since he first got his psychic power. He had sensed it earlier but it was very weak. But as he continued on, Leon could sense James's aura getting stronger and stronger and he knew he was getting closer.

As he continued, he could hear running behind him and someone yelling out his name. When he looked back, he could see Duke catching up to him and surprisingly Gloria was behind him. Leon knew Duke would do something like that to try and stop him but nothing was going to slow him down. He _will_ get back at James for doing such a thing to his own friend and ally. He wasn't about to get away with it.

Duke continued running but still couldn't catch up to Leon. Gloria was right behind him, ready to collapse at any minute. He had to catch Leon before he did anything bad to James. He didn't want his issue to start causing problems. That was never his intention. He didn't want things to get anyway worse than they already were.

Leon sensed James was near. Very near. He realized that he was about to pass the library and figured that James was in there. Finally, he had found his target. Leon approached the library double doors and kicked them open. "No Leon! Stop!" he heard Duke yell but it was in vain. Leon went inside and looked for James, sensing he was very near.

Duke and Gloria both ran inside the library. Both were ready to collapse from exhaustion but at last they had finally caught up with Leon. They tried to tell him to stop but he refused to do so. They could see him looking through every isle he passed. They were almost at the very back of the room when Leon finally went to his left. Duke and Gloria followed, at the same time yelling for him to stop.

But Leon had reached his target. His hands balled up into fists and he went faster. "Leon no!" Duke yelled.

Leon continued. James was looking at a book and looked up to see Leon. Before he could even react, Leon punched him hard in the face. James fell to the floor, his hand over his face. Duke and Gloria grabbed Leon's arms to try and stop him but remarkably, he was stronger than them. He forcefully removed his arms from their grip and grabbed James by the collar of his shirt. He brought him close to his face and yelled, "You son of a bitch! How dare you go and hurt one of your own allies! I'll kill you!!"

With all his strength, he threw James as far as he could. The vampire slammed into the wall several feet away, which actually cracked from the powerful push. Leon began stomping towards James, ready to do his worse. Duke and Gloria once again grabbed Leon's arms and tried to stop him, but his growing rage somehow made him stronger than the dragon and vampire combined. Using what psychic power he had gotten from training, he created some kind of aura around him that forcefully threw Gloria and Duke off of him. With the two no longer trying to stop him, Leon continued towards James, ready to finish what he started. When he was close to James once more, he kicked him hard in the chest. The vampire groaned in pain and held his hand to his chest. Without warning, Leon kicked him again in the chest, harder than the first time. This time James began coughing up some blood. Leon was about to kick him again when James suddenly head butt him.

Both of them were down again but this time the tables had turned. James recovered before Leon could and was on his chest. He grabbed Leon's chin with his left hand, forcefully pushed it up, and sunk his long sharp fangs into Leon's exposed neck. Leon's back instantly arched up in pain. James began sucking not only his blood to rejuvenate himself but his power to weaken him and make it easier to overpower him. James sunk his teeth deeper into Leon's neck. Leon could feel his power literally be leeched out of him. His back arched further up as agony began surging through his body. But he wasn't going to let James suck out all his power. Ikañova sökl!" Leon blurted out.

With only a thought to direct the spell, blades erupted from his knuckles. With the sharp blades at his knuckles, he drove his left fist into James right shoulder as the vampire continued sucking his blood. James let up on his grip a little but continued with his task. Leon again drove the blades into James' right shoulder and this time left the blades in his flesh. With the remaining strength he had, he twisted them in place, causing agony to shoot through James' body. James let go of Leon's neck and placed his hand over his new wound. That's all Leon needed. He removed the blades on his fist from James shoulder and kicked him in the stomach as hard as he could. With the vampire off, Leon placed his hand on his neck while still on his back, trying to slow down the bleeding. With a weak voice, he managed to say "Wáise…heïll…"

The bite marks on his neck healed instantly. But the spell had weakened Leon even further and he barely had enough fight in him left. Before he could try to get up, James held him down and this time had a deadly blade poised above Leon's chest, where his heart was. "You'll pay for all this Leon!" James yelled.

"James stop!" Gloria ordered.

James brought the blade down and was about to pierce Leon's heart when something grabbed him forcefully by the neck, strong enough to choke him, and threw him across the room. James slammed into a wall hard, giving it a huge crack and a dent. He got up and looked to see who it was that threw him and stopped dead in his tracks. Gloria, Duke, and even Leon froze in their place.

"Leader or no, if you dare try to kill your own ally again, I will rip you into shreds and leave your flesh for the maggots to feed upon!" Searinox said, still in his dragonspawn form. He bared his teeth and his eyes narrowed at James, filled with anger.

Duke ran to Leon and helped him up. Gloria ran to James to make sure he was ok. She used the healing spell to heal his wounds. Searinox stomped closer towards James, snorting loudly as his rage grew. James looked at the dragon with frustration. "Who the hell made you boss?!" he challenged.

His rage at its peak, Searinox grabbed James forcefully and held him up to his face by the collar of his shirt. "Listen to me, you arrogant prying son of a bitch!" Searinox shouted loudly, his eyes glowing a deeper blue. "You and Leon are supposed to be allies, not killing each other like animals. Gloria may have appointed you temporary leader but that doesn't mean you have to take advantage of it and treat everyone like they're your slaves. What you did to Duke was out of control and totally unnecessary!"

"How do you know—" James started. Gloria interrupted him, very confused.

"What is going on here?" Gloria demanded.

"Why, James didn't tell you?" Searinox almost sneered. He didn't smile, but bare his teeth further. "He demanded Duke to tell him what has been going on with him and Duke refused to. Afterwards, James called him a few names, punched him, then kicked him and left him to suffer while he headed here."

"What?!" Gloria yelled. She looked at James with anger in her voice. "What the hell is wrong with you James? You had no right to do that to your own friend! It's none of your business what is wrong with Duke!"

"But I wanted to find out so I could tell you and then we could—"

"What's going on with Duke is none of my business either, unless he feels comfortable telling me. Until then, you shouldn't have attacked him and tried to force him to tell you!"

"Then you go and try to kill Leon in the process?! Preposterous!" Searinox yelled. "You've gone too far this time James. You are not the worthy ally I was fooled into believing, but a worthless, pathetic being of nothing!"

"Why you—" James started out again but Gloria cut him off.

"Searinox is right James, you really have gone too far. You are not the leader I thought you could be during my absence," Gloria added. She got up and looked at him straight in the eye. "You are removed from the position of leader. I'm going to take back my place as the true leader of this group. As further punishment, you will not participate in any battles and you will keep guard all night outside with everyone else."

Gloria held out her hand, placed it on James chest, and yelled, "Pyrälokr lyrok!" James felt something strange within, like something had been locked away. He didn't know what kind of power this was. Gloria said it another four times and almost fell down after doing so. Searinox caught her before she fell. She was exceptionally weak after casting such a spell five times. But she slowly got back on her feet and explained, "You will not be able to use your powers for a month now."

"A month?!" James repeated.

"A goddamn month, James," Gloria continued. "You're going to pay for what you've done. For one month, you are to become part of the night guard, not join us in any mission for monsters, not fight with us, and not use your powers. We're not done here. You are to head to our room, we still have to talk."

James was wordless. He was about to protest when Gloria commanded, "Now James!"

He couldn't believe it. He had been reduced to practically nothing. Without another word, he stormed off, heading to their room. He would have more to deal with later.

Gloria watched as James left in frustration. She looked at Leon and Duke, who were both standing now. Before she could say anything, Leon said, "Yeah, I know Gloria. You don't need to go on with me. I know I lost it back there with James and I know I shouldn't have. I'm sorry, and I'll face the consequences for my actions."

Searinox was impressed. Gloria was just surprised. She didn't expect Leon to give in so easily, but instead fight for his reason for hurting James as he did. She decided she would go easy on him. After all, he did what he did to avenge the wrong that was done upon his best friend. "For two weeks, you are not to come to any missions with us and you will become part of the day guard. You cannot fight with us either," she explained.

"Yes, Gloria," Leon said.

"You are dismissed, Leon."

Leon only nodded his head and, with Duke by his side, he left the room. Gloria sighed loudly once she heard the door shut. She sat by a nearby chair, feeling like she would collapse. "Are you alright?" Searinox asked in concern.

"Yeah I'll be fine. Just exhausted from that spell," Gloria answered.

Searinox slowly walked up to Gloria and placed a hand on her right shoulder. "You should be glad to have someone such as Leon. He's a wise man and is very responsible."

"Yeah, he is."

"James on the other hand…you have to teach that man not to do things such as beat his own friend and try to kill him."

"Yeah…I don't know what's gotten in to him."

She looked at Searinox and asked, "What happened back there? This is the first time I've seen you so angry so your arrival."

"Well, weren't you angry?"

"Yeah, but not enough to kill them."

"I demand order in my clan of white dragons. No one attacks their own ally without good reason. Those who do so for poor reasons suffer the consequence of death. Order is important in my clan."

"Would you have really killed James?"

"Without a second's thought, yes. But I didn't because I know you love him."

"Heh, maybe you should be second in command."

"If you want me do, then I will have the honor of keeping order in this group."

"Yeah, the last thing we need is everyone turning against one another."

"Indeed."

"So Searinox," Gloria stood and faced him, "I appoint you second-in-command of the World's Guardians. In my absence, you take my place as leader and if anything goes wrong, you report it to me."

"Of course, Gloria. Of course."

"Now then…if you'll excuse me, I have to talk with someone some more."

"Yes, Gloria."

Gloria slowly got up and headed out the room. Searinox stayed behind to fix up the mess. Appointed as second-in-command, he had to make sure that order was kept within the World's Guardians. Because they needed to work together if they wanted any chance to defeat Tichondrius and save their friend. What they didn't need is everyone fighting against each other like hunger-struck animals. Because then, they would have no chance.

* * *

Ikañova sökl-Eruption of Blades: Blades will erupt from wherever the caster desires. Can be used for only a few minutes.

Pyrälokr lyrok: Power Lock-Caster's target is unable to use any spells, forms, etc for a certain amount of time. The amount of time depends on the caster's level of sorcery. Master level of sorcery allows the caster to choose how long Power Lock lasts. Can be cast multiple times on a single target, prolonging the effect. Maximum number of times is five. Target(s) must be within thirty yards.


	29. Tension Between Friends

Chapter XVIII: Tension Between Friends

"Leon, are you going to be ok?" Duke asked as he walked by Leon's side down the hallway.

"Yeah, I'm going to be fine," Leon responded.

But Duke wouldn't believe it. He saw the rage in Leon's eyes when he had fought James. He had almost completely lost control. "Leon, can we talk?" he asked, a little apprehensive.

"About what?" Leon wondered. The look on his face seemed like that of anger and annoyed.

"About this feud between you and James just now."

"I really don't want to go there."

"Please Leon, this is far more serious than you think. You could've killed the guy—"

"Well he didn't, he ended up almost killing me!" Leon's voice rose to a shout.

Duke wasn't expecting that. "Leon, what's wrong with you?"

"James is what's wrong with me!"

"James did what he did, there's nothing you can do to change that. Just let it go, it was my problem, not yours."

"Do you think this is all about you Duke? That what James did was only your problem?! You're wrong, this is everyone's problem. That bastard attacked you and chances are he'll attack someone else!"

"I don't think this is all about me, that it could be anyone's problem but going to try to nearly kill your own ally isn't helping to fix anything. It's only making things worse!"

"Is that was you think? Oh well then maybe I shouldn't defend you next time. Maybe next time, I'll leave you to suffer and die and not do anything to avenge the wrong done to you!"

Leon immediately regretted saying that. He could see the hurt in Duke's eyes. He couldn't believe what he had just said. "Alright then," Duke continued. "If you think fighting your own allies is right, then fine. Go do that. Just leave me out of it."

Duke immediately left Leon and headed to his room. He left him to think about what he said. Leon almost wanted to collapse on his knees. He felt very guilty for saying what he said. He couldn't just let it go and let his friend live with what he said.

He decided to wait until later while he cooled down. Everyone just needed to cool down before he would go and apologize to Duke for his actions. He continued heading towards his own room, trying to calm himself down on the way there.

It seemed the stress of this war was getting to everyone and it was far worse than anyone would've thought.

* * *

It was nearly seven at night when Gloria finally had some time to herself. She had spent nearly two hours arguing with James about what he had done earlier. It was still a shock to her how he could do such a thing to Duke. She still wasn't sure what had gotten into him lately, but whatever it was didn't give him the right to hurt Duke and then almost kill Leon. She had ordered him to stay in another room, that she didn't want to even see his face for the rest of the day. With not another word to protest, James left for an open room to stay in for the night.

She was glad that she had appointed Searinox as second-in-command. He knew how to keep order within a group and right now, the World's Guardians needed it now more than ever. She could almost _feel_ the stress radiating from everyone, even their monster allies. Everyone was alert for Tichondrius' next attack, worried for Melissa's safety, worried about their future, and thinking about so many things. Many of them lashed out at others sometimes, some were tired half the time, and some worried. So much was happening so fast, Gloria wasn't sure how much more stress she could handle.

For now, she knew that she would have to keep everyone under control and not have another fight break out from within. If she and Searinox couldn't keep control within the World's Guardians, then they would all just end up killing one another and there'd be no chance to stop Tichondrius and save Melissa.

With a loud sigh, she lied down on her bed, thinking of her future and that of her friends.

* * *

Duke was lying down on his bed in complete silence, his hands behind his head and staring at the ceiling. He had been thinking about a lot of things for the past few hours. Everything from the beginning of the war to now, everything that had transpired since Melissa's kidnapping. All of these memories of everything flooded his mind, letting out a wave of emotions. He felt rage and hatred towards Tichondrius, guilt for not being able to save Melissa before she was kidnapped; depressed that she was going through so much just to protect them and that she wasn't here, where she belonged.

His heart ached so much for her. He wanted more than anything to have his draconic mate by his side, not in the hands of such an evil, sadistic being of darkness. He would not stop at his quest until he drove Thunderfury into Tichondrius heart and make him suffer just as he had done to Melissa. _Hang in there, Melissa. We're gonna get you out of there,_ he thought. He only wished there was a way for him to talk to her, whether telepathically or in person, he didn't care. Hearing her voice would make him better.

Someone knocked at his door. He didn't want to get up and answer it, he wanted some time alone. Today had just been hectic. But the person on the other side seemed determined. They knocked louder on the door. Duke sighed. "Go away and leave me alone," he said in a hushed voice.

But they didn't leave. They knocked louder and this time said something. "Duke, I know you're in there. Please open up. I need to talk to you."

Duke recognized the voice. _Leon? What does he want to talk about?_ he wondered. What Leon had said earlier was one of the reasons why he stayed in his room for a few hours. It hurt him but at the same time, angered him. He didn't want Leon to cause any more trouble than he already had with James. And right now, he wasn't in the mood to talk to him or anyone for that matter.

Leon knocked another time. Duke was beginning to get tired of this. He just wanted to be left alone, how hard was it for someone to do that?

He heard a loud sigh from the other side of the door. Then he heard Leon's voice. "Alright Duke, I get it. Before I go, I have to say this. I had to say that I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I had no right to say that and I wasn't thinking clearly. And I know it hurt you and probably made you mad as well. I'm really sorry for what I said and I hope you can forgive me for being such an idiot earlier. If you still want to talk, then you know how to reach me."

Leon leaned against the door and placed his head on it. He sighed again and said, "I'm so sorry Duke. Forgive me."

Leon pushed himself off the door and hoped that Duke had heard what he said. He began heading down the hallway to head to his room when he heard Duke's door unlock. He looked back and saw the door open. Duke appeared and looked at him. With his head, he signaled Leon to come in. Almost relieved, Leon headed into Duke's room while his friend closed the door behind him.

Leon faced Duke and began, "Duke, I'm really—"

"I heard you the first time, Leon," Duke interrupted. Then unexpectedly, a slight smile appeared on the dragon's face. "And I do forgive you for your idiotic actions."

Leon was a little surprised by how easily Duke has forgiven him. He had expected some yelling or arguing or something before Duke would make his decision.

"I know you have a lot of pressure put upon you, Leon. And it's only understandable that you'd be having issues like that. Perhaps not understandable or acceptable that you'd go and try to kill your own ally, but understandable that you'd be feeling anger or whatever the way you do. It's happened to all of us."

"I guess you're right."

"But you have to keep that under control. It can be very dangerous if you just let it practically control you."

"I know. I didn't mean to say what I said. I don't want to ruin our friendship."

"If you continue to let your feelings do the talking, you very well will do so. Just please, take it easy and control yourself. We don't need the whole team to fall apart. We have to stick together for the great war to come."

Duke then walked towards Leon, standing face to face with him. He held out his hand. "Now…are we still in this together? Or are we to soon become enemies?"

Without another thought, Leon shook Duke's hand and said, "We're in this together, Duke."

"Then let us train together and fight together. And if need be…die together as friends and allies," Duke finished.


End file.
